


Torn Between Two ?

by hummerhouse



Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TV 2003)
Genre: Complete, First Kiss, First Time, Love Letters, M/M, Romance, Yaoi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-11
Updated: 2015-11-19
Packaged: 2018-04-25 22:46:49
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 23
Words: 100,482
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4979563
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hummerhouse/pseuds/hummerhouse
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Disclaimer: The TMNT are not mine. No money being made.<br/>Word Count: 100,755 multi-chapter 2k3 verse<br/><b>Original posting dates:</b> first 8/23/13 - end 12/7/14<br/>Summary: Raphael has a secret admirer - or two.<br/>Rating: R to NC-17<br/>Pairing: Casey/Raph, Raph/?<br/>Haiku one, author unknown. Haiku two written by Kobayashi Issa</p><p><b>!!~~</b>Winner in the 2014/15 TMNT Mature Fanfiction Competition: (Erotica Section) Most Sensual Canon Character 1st Place (Bishop); Steamiest Slash 2nd Place (Raph x Casey, Raph x Bishop); Best Overall Erotic Fiction 3rd Place<b>~~!!</b></p><p>Totally inspired by the preview art in chapter 1 created by Dragona15 from deviantArt.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Preview art created by the talented Dragona15 on DeviantArt. This picture was the inspiration for the story.  
> 

            The first note that Raph had received was a haiku. If not for the fact the Raph’s name was printed on top of the folded piece of paper, he would have thought it was meant for Leo.

            Raph hadn’t read it where he’d found it. The note was atop a building he frequented because it gave him a good view of the theatre crowd. Finding your name on something when no one in the city was supposed to know you existed was bad enough; finding it in a place you went to a lot was bad.

            The poem wasn’t original; it was one that Raph was even familiar with, having seen it in one of his brother’s books. It was printed in the same, impersonal block letters as Raph’s name was and read:

I walk across sand

And find myself blistering

In the hot, hot heat

            Raph had scratched his head in total perplexity and re-read the poem a couple of times. He’d even held the paper up to a light, just to see if there was an invisible message of some kind on it.

            Eventually he’d folded the note and stuck it in his belt, having no idea what it meant or who had left it for him. In the back of his mind he had a sneaking suspicion it was Mikey, because that was exactly the kind of prank his youngest brother liked to pull.

            By the time Raph got home that night, he was sure Mikey was responsible and was no doubt waiting for Raph to bring it up, giving the little snot a golden opportunity to embarrass him. So instead, Raph had bid his family goodnight and turned in, ignoring their looks of surprise upon seeing him home so early.

            For some reason, Raph did not destroy the note. He wasn’t sure why himself, except possibly the thought that there was a million to one chance it hadn’t come from Mikey. Raph was however very careful to hide it where his snoopy little brother wouldn’t find it.

            Two days passed and then Raph’s curiosity got the better of him. Out patrolling with his best bud Casey Jones, Raph had been so busy thinking about the note that he completely missed seeing a mugging. Casey had punched him in the arm to get his attention and together they’d made short work of the criminal.

            Casey had pressed him pretty hard about what was on his mind, but Raph just told him he had stuff going on at the lair. A little while after that Raph had told Casey he needed to head home, not missing the frown on his friend’s face as he took off.

            Instead of going home, Raph had gone back to the building where he’d found the first note and sure enough, the tip of another small white piece of paper stuck out from beneath the loose brick where Raph had found the other one.

            His name was printed on top in exactly the same way. Holding the note between his fingers, Raph had scanned the neighboring roof tops through narrowed eyes. This time he opened the paper where he stood, as though daring whoever had left it to confront him.

            It was another haiku. Raph growled before catching himself. If someone was going to leave him notes, they could at least do it in a form he understood.

Everything I touch

with tenderness, alas,

pricks like a bramble.

            This one at least had some relevance because if Raph could find whoever had left him the notes, he was going to show them what it felt like to be pricked by a Sai.

            Still he said nothing about the notes, keeping quiet when the third, fourth, and fifth appeared. Every other night like clockwork. Raph had tried staking out the building from another location, borrowing Don’s binoculars to ensure he was far enough away so the mystery writer wouldn’t spot him.

            He never saw anyone and guessed that whoever it was had to be leaving the notes during the day. That excluded Mikey and everyone else in his family; though it wasn’t unheard of for them to go topside during daylight, they were all very aware of it when a family member did so. Mikey hadn’t been out of the lair during the day in over a month.

            Totally perplexed, Raph ran through his mind everyone he knew, comparing the notes to their personalities. No one seemed to fit and the whole thing started to make him feel restless.

            Eventually the notes changed from haikus to short personal messages. One such note read, _“I can see that you are tired and it worries me”_ , while another said _“The fire in your eyes lights the night”_.

            Going after the notes became an obsession. On the nights Raph had to patrol with his brothers, he studiously avoided the building containing his notes, sneaking back out after everyone else in his family had gone to bed.

            Raph also began either cutting short his nights out with Casey or cancelling them altogether. He figured Casey wouldn’t mind, the guy had been a lone vigilante before Raph met him and could handle himself just fine. Plus, Casey had April now. If Raph had a hot mate he knew he’d rather spend his time doing the horizontal bop than chasing around in the dirty, dark streets of New York City.

            Those damn notes were doing a number on his head and Raph knew it. He started having wet dreams about them; about how some formless person would suddenly appear when Raph went to retrieve a note. He dreamt about how this faceless person would take the note from his hand and turn it into a bird, setting it free. Then their lips would touch Raph’s, coaxing him into a deep and sensual kiss.

            In his dream, Raph could feel the person searching for his hidden manhood, the stroke of strong and purposeful fingers arousing the turtle to the point where he would drop down.

            The dreams were the most satisfying of his life because that unknown person always got him off. Raph would wake as a powerful climax wracked his body, the spasms fading after several glorious minutes while the echo of soft words speaking the lines from Raph’s notes still echoed in his ears.

            Every new note produced a stiffening beneath Raph’s shell that sent him home and to bed much earlier than ever in his life. He never tried to ease the ache with his own hand anymore because he knew the dream would come and satisfy his need in a much more elegant manner.

            It was during one of his note nights when Raph was out with Casey that everything between them changed. Maybe it had been there all along for Casey, but Raph had never noticed.

            “I’m pulling the plug on it for the night pal,” Raph said after a couple of hours running with his friend.

            Casey turned and scowled at him, his look so intense that Raph did a double take.

            “What the hell, Raph,” Casey said. “Ya’ turning into a princess or something? Ya’ never in your life wanted ta quit after two hours but in the last month and a half ya’ can’t leave fast enough.”

            “So I got other shit ta do than run around out here with your ass,” Raph snapped back. “Sue me for having a life. Ya’ should be thanking me for making ya’ spend extra time with April, she’s probably thrilled ya’ ain’t out trying ta get killed.”

            Casey snorted derisively. “That shows how much ya’ been around either of us Raph old buddy. Me and April have been on the outs for a few months.”

            Raph stopped dead in his tracks and stared at his friend. “Does anyone else know?”

            “Nah,” Casey said, shrugging his shoulders. “We’ve always been on again, off again. That whole arguing thing between us can be exciting, but it ain’t no basis ta build a relationship on.”

            “I’m sorry ta hear that,” Raph said sincerely. “I mean it. Maybe ya’ should spend less time patrolling and go out ta a couple of clubs or something; see if ya’ can meet a gal that fits your temperament better.”

            “I don’t wanna meet any women,” Casey said. “I’m damn happy with what I got right now; you and me busting heads, tossing back a couple of cold ones, and not having ta answer ta some bitchy woman ‘cause I put my feet up on the coffee table.”

            As much as he felt sympathy for his friend, Raph could practically hear the siren’s call of tonight’s mystery note, waiting for him to find it. The notes were the closest thing to a lover Raph had ever had and he didn’t want anyone else to mistakenly find one.

            “Let’s get together tomorrow night pal,” Raph said, backing slowly away. “I’ll have more time then and we can sit in your shitty apartment while we knock down a few brews and ya’ tell me about stuff.”

            Close to a storage shed, Raph waved to his friend and turned to leave. He heard Casey’s indignant growl and the thud of approaching footsteps a split second before his friend grabbed the edge of his carapace.

            Spinning Raph around, Casey slammed him into the side of the shed and then slapped a hand against the wall next to Raph’s head. Flabbergasted at Casey’s actions, Raph stared up at him in stunned silence.

            Casey leaned in close as he asked, “Ya’ got someone else, Raph?”

            “What?” Raph gasped out, sure that his friend had lost his mind.

            “Ya’ doin’ someone on the side? Who is it?” Casey demanded, his eyes flashing angrily.

            Raph placed a hand on Casey’s shoulder and shoved him back. “If I was, what’s it ta ya’? Ya’ ain’t got no say over what I do.”

            Casey stepped in close again, his puffed up chest pressing against Raph’s plastron. “That ain’t right Raph! I’ve known ya’ for a long time and we belong together. Ya’ shoulda given me first shot.”

            “Just because we’re friends doesn’t . . . mean . . . wait . . . what?” Raph asked, his anger dissipating in a haze of total confusion.

            Rather than answering, Casey suddenly gripped Raph’s shoulders tightly and pressed his mouth against the turtle’s.

TBC………………

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These lovely art certificates were created by (in order): chimyen (tumblr), AlessandraDC (DA), and accioturtur (tumblr).  
> 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Word Count: 2,643 multi-chapter 2k3 verse  
> Summary: Raphael has a secret admirer - or two.  
> Rating p2: R  
> Pairing: Casey/Raph, ?/Raph

            It took a couple of seconds for Raphael’s completely blown mind to process what Casey was doing. When it finally did, he doubled up a fist and punched his friend right in the gut.

            Casey immediately stumbled backwards, his hands clutching his stomach as he grimaced at the sudden pain. Both of Raph’s fists were tight balls, ready in case he had to deliver a repeat message.

            “What the shell?” Raph growled.

            “Dammit Raph, ya’ didn’t have ta hit me,” Casey groaned, rubbing his stomach as he straightened up.

            “What the fuck did ya’ expect?” Raph asked loudly. “Out of the blue ya’ decide ta use your mouth for something other than talking and I’m supposed ta just stand here and take it?”

            “Hey, I didn’t exactly plan on springing it on ya’ this way either,” Casey said. “I been wanting ta bring it up for a while now, but ya’ ain’t had a lot of time for me lately.”

            “Is that why April and ya’ ain’t been getting along, ‘cause ya’ think ya’ got some kinda feelings for me?” Raph asked, completely bewildered by his friend’s revelation.

            “We ain’t been getting along for exactly the reason I told ya’,” Casey said. “Every damn woman I’ve ever been with has tried ta change me, ta turn me into some kinda molded dummy that wears pressed pants and holds down a nine ta five job. I wind up being damn unhappy and then I bail. I don’t want a woman and I don’t want ta be alone either.”

            “You’re sick of women so ya’ decided ta try guys on for size,” Raph said. “Why’d ya’ pick me ta experiment on? Ya’ figure I’d be so desperate I’d be up for anything?”

            “No,” Casey said indignantly. “Why ya’ gotta take it like that? Thinking about ya’ and how we get along and have so much stuff in common is what made me start wondering if I’d be better off with a guy. It’s not like I gotta have sex ta live, but when I thought about ya’ that way I got excited. More excited than when I think about the women I’ve been with.”

            “So in typical Casey fashion ya’ figured you’d show me instead of telling me,” Raph said angrily. “Ya’ ever stop ta think maybe I’d want some kinda choice about my first kiss?”

            “I wouldn’t exactly call that a kiss. I’ve gotten more action out of mouth ta mouth resuscitation,” Casey said with a grin.

            “That ain’t fucking funny, Case,” Raph told him.

            “Sorry pal,” Casey said, finally looking decently contrite. “I guess if some dude suddenly went off on me like that I’d pull his testicles up around his neck.”

            “Ain’t that a charming visual,” Raph said, starting to calm down.

            Casey looked down at the ground and then rubbed the back of his neck, asking sheepishly, “Ya’ said first kiss. Does that mean ya’ ain’t seeing someone else?”

            “I ain’t seeing anyone,” Raph said, once more frustrated with his friend. “Who the fuck would I see? I’m a goddam mutant fucking freak turtle, Casey.”

            Lifting his head, Casey’s blue eyes glimmered with a light Raph had never seen before. “Not ta me ya’ ain’t. Shit Raph, ya’ know I ain’t good with words. I know I’m a damn misfit and ya’ can do better. Don’t give me that crap about how you’re a mutant and no woman would look at ya’ ‘cause that ain’t true. April told me she thinks ya’ guys are attractive; she thought so right after she got over the first shock of getting ta know ya’ and Angel told me the same thing.”

            “They did?” Raph stared at him, stunned. A second later he was frowning again. “That’s two out of the hundred or so who run screaming as soon as they get a look at what rescued ‘em. That ain’t good odds. Why the fuck am I even talking ta ya’ about this? I can’t be with anyone ‘cause I’m a secret, ya’ get it? I’m the thing that hides in the sewers that people can’t know about ‘cause they’d freak the fuck out and I’d end up being dissected. Even if I found some weird ass chick who wanted a roll in the hay, the first time she got pissed at me she’d be calling the FBI.”

            “Ya’ _can_ be with someone; ya’ can be with me,” Casey said quietly. “Ya’ already know I’ll stick with ya’ no matter what and I been plenty pissed at ya’ in the past. Whatever happened between us, I’d never out ya’ and I guess by now ya’ know me well enough ta know that’s the truth.”

            “Shit Casey,” Raph muttered, looking past his friend in embarrassment.

            Casey laughed uncomfortably. “Look, if ya’ don’t think ya’ could go for a guy, just say so. I would never have thought it of myself either a few years ago. Kinda figured out that one of the reasons I been so fuckin’ miserable is ‘cause I been trying ta deny who I am and what I want. A bunch of people a lot braver than me have been standing up and saying they’re gay, and if they can put it out there like that, I should be able ta do the same. At least with ya’ ‘cause you’re my best friend.”

            “Ya’ think ya’ been sabotaging all them past relationships ‘cause of that?” Raph asked with sudden insight.

            Casey shrugged. “Hadn’t thought about it, but yeah, maybe. I suppose if you’re unhappy all the time it’ll bleed over into your love life. I might’ve had a couple times where I thought about offing myself. That was before I met ya’. Suicide ain’t my thing though, so I just took it out on the Dragons. They deserved it anyway.”

            “Geez Casey, that’s some deep shit.” Raph took a minute to think about his friend’s revelation and then said, “Your question about me liking guys, I gotta say I ain’t ever given it much thought. Don’t wanna hurt your feelings or nothing, but I’ve imagined doing stuff with girls. Usually I just try not ta think about it at all ‘cause that kinda pointless daydreaming ain’t worth the aggravation.”

            Raph didn’t mention the dreams he’d been having; that was his subconscious and he had no control over that. When he thought about it though, what he could remember of those dreams is that his lover was both faceless and genderless.

            “Would ya’ want ta maybe . . . give it a try?” Casey asked meekly.

            His tone was both shy and awkward, a mix that Raph had never seen his friend display. It left Raph feeling unsettled and for the first time since meeting Casey, a little unsure of how to respond.

            Casey’s giant confession should have pushed all thoughts of the anonymous notes out of Raph’s mind but it didn’t and that was something else Raph needed to figure out. It dawned on him that this obsession of his was becoming all-consuming and more than a little unhealthy.

            “I gotta think about this,” Raph said truthfully. “Ya’ gotta give me some time ta sort things out.”

            Stepping closer, Casey’s expression became slightly more hopeful. “Ya’ ain’t saying no?” he asked, needing clarity.

            “I ain’t saying yes either,” Raph replied guardedly.

            “Do ya’ wanna try something more, just ta see how it feels ta ya’?” Casey asked.

            Their eyes met and Raph could see the longing in Casey’s. It was obvious that the man was feeling something for him, but Raph had no way of knowing if it was attraction or the same kind of desperation that Raph often felt at the prospect of always being alone.

            “I don’t know Case, it’s all a little too weird,” Raph said. “What if this was ta royally screw up our friendship?”

            Casey shook his head. “No kissing or nothing like that,” Casey said. “Just me touching ya’ so ya’ can see if it feels okay and not . . . I don’t know, disturbing.”

            “Ya’ touch me all the time pal,” Raph said, starting to grow nervous.

            “Shoving and punching don’t count,” Casey said with a quivering grin. “Just my fingers; one hand, no grabbing.”

            There was an almost pleading tone to his voice and a beseeching look in his eyes. Raph exhaled harshly, deciding it couldn’t do any harm since he could easily cut things off if they got too strange.

            Besides, he was still haunted by the memory of his dreams and suddenly wanted to know if the touch of another male would match what he felt in them.

            “Okay,” Raph agreed. “Go slow and don’t get carried away or you’re gonna get hit again.”

            Raph watched as Casey reached towards him, his hand shaking noticeably. Before Casey’s fingers even touched him, Raph’s heart had started beating faster and the turtle wasn’t sure if it was from nerves or anticipation.

            Willing his arms to stay at his sides, Raph’s eyes remained riveted on Casey’s face as the human set his fingertips lightly against Raph’s upper plastron. For a half a second Casey did nothing more, merely resting his fingers against the scutes.

            When Casey’s fingers began to move it was with a delicacy that Raph didn’t think his friend capable of. They skimmed across the upper scutes and then trailed up to explore where skin and plastron met.

            The sensation was strange but not unpleasant, almost soothing in fact, and since it wasn’t threatening in any way, Raph allowed himself to relax a little. Casey seemed to realize this and moved his fingers back to Raph’s plastron, tracing the pattern of scars across the upper two scutes.

            Then Casey’s hand drifted back to the middle of Raph’s chest, his index finger resting against the center frontline as his hand slid downwards. Raph’s breathing hitched slightly, the soft touch inside that groove sending a spike of delight through his system.

            Casey’s fingers lingered on Raph’s abdominal scutes, his nails occasionally making a scratching sound as the fingertips shifted. Raph found the feeling of his friends caress here to be slightly more erotic; his stomach was not an area used to casual touch.

            Raph felt a churr forming and bit his lip in an attempt to keep it from becoming audible. Casey looked up and into his eyes, perhaps feeling the vibration against his fingers. There was no trace of alarm on Casey’s face; he knew the sounds that Raph made when he was angry. If anything, the hint of a churr made Casey even more curious.

            It also seemed to embolden him. With their eyes locked together, Raph felt rather than saw Casey’s hand turn, his fingers pointed downwards as they crept across the tie in Raph’s belt.

            For a moment time froze for Raph. He stopped breathing as a tingling sensation traveled across his skin, his toes curling and the blood pounding in his temples. Then the heel of Casey’s palm flattened against the tie as the man’s fingers began to delve towards Raph’s groin.

            Raph’s reaction was instantaneous; his penis twitched and stirred under his shell and Raph jumped back, moving away from his friend’s questing hand.

            Casey immediately snatched his hand back, curling it against his chest. Neither of them said anything; Raph was too busy trying to control his unexpected arousal and Casey was breathing too hard to talk.

            “I gotta go,” Raph said suddenly, needing to put distance between himself and the cause of his discomfiture.

            “Raph, wait,” Casey called out quickly.

            He took a step in Raph’s direction but the turtle’s eyes widened in dismay and he skittered backwards. Casey stopped moving but he lifted his hand in an imploring gesture, bringing Raph’s retreat to a stop.

            “Please,” Casey began, his voice low and tremulous. “Was it . . . terrible?”

            Raph could see the painful anxiety in his friend’s eyes and knew he couldn’t just leave Casey hanging.

            “No,” Raph answered and then spun around, running as fast as he could away from Casey.

            He didn’t think Casey would follow him but Raph ran full out just to be on the safe side. Leaping across chasms between buildings that were too wide for even Casey’s muscled legs to handle, Raph put as much distance behind him as possible.

            Sometimes such physical activity helped to ease Raph’s confusion, but not tonight. It wasn’t just having his best friend come onto him that left Raph’s mind in turmoil, it was the fact that now he wasn’t sure of his own sexuality. Raph wasn’t even sure why it mattered, unless he was simply overwhelmed with the thought of experiencing something he’d written off as never happening.

            Raph finally stopped, coming to rest in a hidden spot beneath a water tower. After a bit he found himself growing angry over Casey’s admission and in his frustration slammed his fist against a support post. The solid blow stung, momentarily offering him a respite from his emotions and he did it again. And again.

            Damn Casey. If he had just kept things to himself; if he had let Raph continue on with a life of seclusion, enjoying the small joys he was allowed to have, then things would have been fine. The mystery notes satisfied whatever longing Raph sometimes felt and he had found a sense of inner peace with them.

            Thinking about the notes, Raph started running again, but this time toward the building where tonight’s note would be waiting. He needed it; he needed the words, however few there were, to offer him some sort of solace for his inner turbulence.

            Usually Raph approached the roof top cautiously, always coming at it from a different direction and studying both it and the surrounding buildings. Tonight there was no circumspection in him and he flew across buildings recklessly, actually hoping that he would be accosted by whoever was leaving those missives.

            He landed on the roof without seeing a soul and immediately spotted the paper, an edge flapping in the light breeze, seemingly beckoning Raph.

            A low almost tortured sound crept out of his throat and Raph snatched the note out from under the brick. With hands that were not quite steady, he unfolded the paper and read it.

_“Do you want to be alone forever?”_

            The impact of those seven words hit Raph like a freight train, throwing him completely off balance. His hand squeezed around the note, crushing the paper into a ball as Raph shuddered through a tumult of emotions too strong to confront.

            Anger won again, as it usually did, its heat burning the others into submission. He was suddenly tired of the game; tired of the cheap thrill, and mostly tired of living in a damn dream.

            Opening his hand, Raph tore a corner of the paper off and dug the stub of a pencil out of his belt. Setting the paper down on a flat surface, Raph wrote, _“Who are you? I want to meet.”_

            He practically slammed the brick down on top of it, his breathing coming in fast gulps. Raph didn’t care if this did turn out to be some elaborate prank of Mikey’s; if somehow his youngest brother had found a way to leave the notes without Raph ever seeing him. This entire farce had gone on long enough as far as Raph was concerned and he just needed answers.

            Now that it was done and his decision made, Raph felt a sense of calm inevitability settle over him. With a last look around, he tucked the pencil and tonight’s note into his belt, turning to head home at a quick run.

            Raph would be back in two nights. He had no doubt he would have his answers then, whether he really wanted them or not.

TBC……………..


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Word Count: 3,005 multi-chapter 2k3 verse  
> Summary: Raphael has a secret admirer - or two.  
> Rating p3: R  
> Pairing: Casey/Raph, ?/Raph

            Raphael was not in a good mood when he walked into the dojo to attend practice the morning following Casey’s confession.

            He kept his eyes directed towards Master Splinter the entire time, following every instruction to the letter without saying a word. All of his actions had a hint of aggression behind them, every movement and every strike delivered with the full strength of his powerful muscles.

            When they were finally dismissed, Raph stood in the middle of the floor and watched from the corner of his eyes as his brothers left the room one by one. Mikey was rubbing his shoulder from where Raph had wrenched it when pulling him over into a hip throw. Don limped from the dojo, his feet smarting from the force Raph had used to sweep them out from under the smart turtle.

            Leo lingered for a moment in the doorway, contemplating his hot headed brother as he rotated his neck, which was sore from the headlock he’d been trapped in. Raph refused to look up at him, instead glowering at the mats as though they were at fault for his feeling of unspent energy. With a shrug, Leo finally left.

            Last night there had been no sweet release, no dream of a lover who took him beyond the heights of pleasure. There had been nothing but frustration and unanswered questions. Raph had gotten so used to the relief of steady orgasmic bliss that missing a night left him out of sorts and resentful.

            Casey’s words still echoed in his head and Raph wanted them out of there so that he could think. Spinning towards the punching bag, Raph began to unleash the built up resentment that lingered from the night before.

            Life was difficult enough without people trying to suddenly change their place in it. Raph had been happy with the status quo and having a balance between family and friends suited him just fine. Now Casey wanted to change the ‘friend’ label to ‘lover’ and Raph didn’t know what to do with that idea.

            Raph pounded the bag relentlessly, ignoring the fine spray of sand that was beginning to escape from tiny cracks created by his rock like fists. It was easy for Casey to say he just wanted to find out if touching Raph in a different way would seem strange to them, but he sure skirted the question on whether doing that kind of stuff would screw up their friendship.

            As far as Raph was concerned, it had already changed things. Gone was that nice easy feeling Raph had when he thought about hanging out with his pal. Raph was already feeling self-conscious and he was nowhere near the bonehead. He had never in his life worried about whether Casey might drop by for a visit; shell, he never even thought about it. When Casey showed up they’d work on their motorcycles or shoot the shit and Raph could just be himself.

            If Casey walked into the lair right now Raph wasn’t sure how he’d handle it. He knew he’d be pissed though ‘cause he’d told his pal he needed some time and a few hours wasn’t what he meant.

            He couldn’t get into it with Casey here; that was for sure. Raph’s family did not need to know any of this stuff; not Casey’s current single status, not his revelation, and certainly not that he thought he was attracted to Raph. His brothers would want to know what led to Casey’s sudden confession and that might bring up the fact that Raph had been lying to them about all his early nights.

            Raph growled at that thought, spinning around to strike the bag with his elbow before starting to pummel it again with his fists. Mikey better hope he wasn’t the one responsible for those damn notes because if he was, Raph was going to rip his tail off and stick it to his forehead.

            One thing was for sure, Raph was not going over to Casey’s apartment tonight. He’d made that offer before Casey had planted the surprise lip lock on him, so Raph couldn’t be held to that promise.

            With a snarl, Raph slammed his fist into the bag hard enough to split the seam. Sand began spilling out of the sides and Raph stepped back, chest heaving from his exertions. Yeah, Casey had avoided the question about their friendship and with good reason. He damn well knew things were going to be different. Raph had one good friend in the world and here he was thinking about how to avoid him.

            Leo hadn’t said whether they were going to patrol tonight or not and Raph decided he’d push the issue. There was no way he’d be able to sit around the lair and stare at the walls, or worse yet his brothers, and not feel the need to claw his own eyes out. Maybe they’d get lucky and run across some of the Foot clan. Kicking their butts would make Raph feel a little less anxious.

            “I had a feeling I was going to need this.”

            Raph’s head came up with a jerk and he spotted Donatello standing in the doorway, a sewing kit in one hand and a roll of duct tape in the other.

            “I ain’t in the mood Don,” Raph muttered hoarsely.

            “Neither am I,” Don said, walking towards him. “I have a long list of things to do today and repairing your bag yet again isn’t on it. So you have three choices; you can help me fix it now, you can fix it by yourself, or we can wait to fix it until sometime when you aren’t in such a bad mood. Keeping in mind of course that might be a while.”

            Raph’s glare didn’t faze his genius brother; it rarely did. Leo would take that angry look as a challenge, Mikey would tease him until Raph popped a cork, but Don always just stood his ground and waited him out.

            “Fine,” Raph said in a huff, stepping towards the bag again and wrapping his arms around it.

            Don set the things he was holding on the floor and joined Raph at the bag, disconnecting it from the ceiling hook when Raph lifted the weight off. Together they placed the bag on its side with the ripped section face up and began putting the spilled sand back into it.

            The brothers worked in silence, scooping up as much sand as they could with their hands and then using the little whisk broom and dust pan that was kept nearby. Raph glanced up occasionally to see Don contemplating him, but his brother didn’t say anything.

            When Don began stitching the ripped seam, Raph couldn’t take it anymore and said, “I don’t want ta talk about it.”

            “I don’t recall asking you to,” Don said in an offhand manner, his eyes now fixed on his repair work.

            Raph plopped down on the floor nearby, sitting cross legged as he watched Don quickly and efficiently fix the bag. There was something soothing about the way Don worked; it was the same when he was stitching up a wound, his calm competence eased away tension and even took some of the pain out of the process as well.

            “Me and Casey sort of had a fight,” Raph muttered.

            “I suspected as much,” Don said without looking up. “You can’t spend a lot of time with someone without having the occasional argument.”

            “Yeah, well . . . .” Raph trailed off, not sure what to say next. “Yeah,” he repeated lamely.

            Neither said anything for a few more minutes and then Raph blurted out, “Casey and April split up.”

            Don nodded. “I know, she told me a couple of months ago.”

            “Why the hell didn’t ya’ say something?” Raph demanded angrily, remembering that Casey had said no one else knew.

            Looking up, Don said, “Because she asked me not to. She didn’t want us to make a big deal out of it and she felt like Casey would want to be the one to tell you. I don’t think she expected it would take him this long.”

            “Damn bonehead,” Raph said with feeling.

            Don knew he was referring to Casey and not himself and smiled slightly before returning to his task. “You know Casey operates on Casey time and that doesn’t necessarily coincide with a clock or a calendar.”

            “I know that,” Raph said a trifle impatiently, “but this is kinda a big deal for him ta keep ta himself for so long.”

            “Everyone does things their own way bro’,” Don said, tying off the thread. As he began applying strips of duct tape along the newly repaired seam and to other suspicious looking spots on the old leather bag he added, “He probably just needed time to come to terms with how he felt about the whole thing.”

            Raph waited a minute, wanting to talk it out with Don but not wanting to give too much away. Finally he asked, “So what happens if he starts ta get interested in someone else?”

            Don glanced up again. “Do you think he has?”

            It was the first direct question Don had asked him and Raph almost shied away from it. Two things made him push on; Don didn’t seem all that interested in whether or not he answered and the conversation with his brother was actually making Raph feel less anxious.

            Raph shrugged nonchalantly though Don’s head was turned and he didn’t see it. “I get the feeling he might be from some stuff he said.”

            “That would explain why your nights out with him have been cut so short lately,” Don observed. “I hope you didn’t make him feel guilty about seeking out a new romantic relationship.”

            “Nah,” Raph said, suddenly feeling a little shaky. It was the exact opposite; Raph was the one with an outside interest and Casey had certainly dropped a guilt trip on him with his confession. That wasn’t something Raph could share with Don though.

            “Here, help me get this back up. It’s as fixed as it’s going to get,” Don said as he tossed the roll of tape aside and stood.

            Rising to his feet, Raph helped Don lift the bag into position, and then held it in place as the genius reconnected the chains.

            Don pressed his shoulder against the bag and stared expectantly at Raph, who took a deep breath before using his fist to test the repair job.

            After hitting the bag a few times more, Raph stopped and leaned on the other side of the bag to look at Don. “What happens if he gets serious with some stranger?” Raph asked.

            “You aren’t going to lose your friend,” Don said, trying to assure him. “It’s possible you won’t see him as often, but Casey isn’t going to drastically change. After a while things will balance out again.”

            “It ain’t just that,” Raph said, trying to find a way to word his concerns without giving out too much information. “What if he got with someone and wanted ta bring that person into our lives?”

            Don’s expression grew serious. “Considering the possible ramifications of something like that, I’d say we’d have to vet that person fairly rigorously first. The last thing I’d want to do is upset Casey, but it’s conceivable our enemies could plant someone to seduce Casey just to get to us.”

            “Ya’ got a point,” Raph said slowly. He hadn’t really thought about that when he’d left his note requesting a meeting with his secret admirer. Raph hadn’t really thought about much other than his anger and his underlying need.

            “All you can do is offer him support and remind Casey not to bring anyone around here,” Don said, staring at Raph curiously. “Maybe tell him that they’d be safer not knowing anything about us, that should keep him from getting defensive.”

            “Okay, thanks bro’,” Raph said, straightening up. “I’m gonna hit the showers. Do ya’ think Leo wants ta patrol tonight?”

            Don gathered up his supplies and walked out of the dojo with Raph. “He hasn’t said anything for certain, but I gathered that he did.”

            “Good, ‘cause me and Casey quit early last night and I’ve got energy ta burn,” Raph said, taking the stairs two at a time and heading directly to the bathroom.

            Raph lingered in the shower, letting his thoughts dwell on his conversation with Don. His brother was right about new people coming into their lives; anyone had the potential to be an enemy plant. Shell, if Raph had been thinking more with his big head he’d have realized those damn notes were a great way for someone to insinuate themselves into the Hamato household.

            He had to admit, the notes had gotten to him not so much because of the mystery behind them but for what they said. Each one spoke directly to him as an individual and that should have been his clue that the note writer wasn’t a complete stranger.

            Who would be so patient though? Raph shook his head beneath a spray of water as though hoping it would clean the cobwebs off his brain. Not once in all this time had the note writer suggested they meet; it was Raph’s fit of anger that had forced that issue. He didn’t have to go through with it either, it was entirely up to Raph if he wanted to pursue it further or just let the whole thing drop and never go to that building again.

            Almost as soon as he thought it, Raph knew he couldn’t let go. That last note was the kicker because it cut right to the center of Raph’s own personal hell. Being alone wasn’t a choice Raph or his brother’s got to make. The circumstances surrounding their creation took that kind of choice away from them and the longing for what most living things got to have just by virtue of existing tore Raph’s heart to pieces.

            Raph made the decision to keep his date with the note writer on an almost subconscious level. Whatever happened, he wouldn’t let it extend to his family. He’d kept the secret of the notes and he’d keep the secret of the writer as well.

            Thinking about all the things that had been written made Raph’s pulse quicken and he felt a familiar stirring between his legs. It took all his willpower not to drop down and bring himself off in the shower but he had a better idea. Raph had the whole afternoon ahead of him and he decided a good long nap was in order, during which he was sure his dream would now visit him.

            Drying off quickly, Raph grabbed his gear and hurried to his bedroom, anxious to get to sleep and have his still stiffening arousal taken care of. It was for this reason that he plowed through his bedroom door without noticing someone had turned on the lights.

            The sight of Michelangelo sitting on his bed grinning at him was like running into an iceberg. Raph’s erection immediately receded, all hints of sexual stimulation disappearing in a flash, replaced instead by angry suspicion.

            “What do you want?” Raph asked, his manner surly and unwelcoming.

            “Really dude? Is this how you greet a brother who just came to help you out of your funk?” Mikey asked, his blue eyes wide with feigned innocence.

            “If ya’ really wanted ta be helpful ya’ wouldn’t invade my privacy,” Raph growled. As an afterthought he said, “Ya’ better not have been going through my things again.”

            “Why? Do you have something to hide?” Mikey’s entire body seemed to perk up at the idea.

            Raph was careful to keep his eyes on Mikey, though for a second he was tempted to glance towards where he’d hidden his collection of notes. Mikey was watching him avidly and that would have been all the nutball needed to discover Raph’s secret.

            “Piss off Mikey,” Raph said, setting his things down on his desk. “I want ta catch some shut eye before we go out on patrol tonight.”

            “You sleep too much,” Mikey whined, getting off the bed when Raph rudely shoved him. “Wouldn’t you rather play some video games with me or go skateboarding in the tunnels?”

            “Ask Leo or Donny,” Raph told him shortly.

            “Leo’s meditating with Master Splinter and Don handed me a to-do list as soon as I walked in his door,” Mikey said. “This family is full of a bunch of loners.”

            “I ain’t here ta be your entertainment committee,” Raph told him, fluffing his pillow before lying down. “Turn off the light when ya’ leave.”

            “Be that way Raph,” Mikey said in a huff as he flipped the light switch. “Just remember that you’re the one who forced me to amuse myself.”

            Mikey pulled the door shut with a bang. It took several minutes for Raph’s muscles to relax, not realizing how tense he’d become upon finding Mikey in his room.

            Maybe his little brother really was bored and in need of some quality time with one of his siblings, in which case Raph should probably feel guilty for blowing him off. Most likely though was that Mikey was up to something and had been caught in the act when Raph had shown up unexpectedly.

            The fake water pipe overhead hadn’t been moved, this Raph could see at a glance. If Mikey was snooping he hadn’t found the notes; Raph had positioned that pipe carefully so that certain discolorations were within Raph’s line of sight.

            Whatever Mikey was trying to do didn’t bode well for Raph. Whether Mikey was bored or because the youngest had some suspicions about Raph’s recent activity, it meant that Raph was going to have a much harder time shaking Mikey loose when it was time to meet the note writer.

            That was especially true since Mikey’s last words could easily be taken as a threat.

TBC…………….


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Word Count: 2,479 multi-chapter 2k3 verse  
> Summary: Raphael has a secret admirer - or two.  
> Rating p4: R  
> Pairing: Casey/Raph, ?/Raph

            The lingering unease from Mikey’s visit and the mental replay of his earlier conversation with Don made it difficult for Raph to sleep.

            Don had given him something to think about when the genius had pointed out the very real possibility that their enemies would trick someone close to them in order to reach the turtles. Of course Don had thought they were having a hypothetical discussion about Casey’s acquisition of a new love interest when in fact it was Raph himself who was being courted.

            The mystery messages Raph had been receiving were love notes, there was no denying that fact. At first he considered them to be someone’s idea of a joke, then an elaborate prank, and then finally the act of a shy secret admirer. Raph didn’t think he’d have such an intense nightly reaction to them if they hadn’t been written to evoke exactly that type of response.

            If someone was playing him then they were doing a fine job of it. Raph felt exactly as if he had a lover; his desire to spend more time sleeping was his way of sneaking off for a clandestine meeting with his suitor. Sex in his dreams was a hell of a lot more satisfying than sex with his hand.

            He’d gone to his room for an afternoon nap with the express purpose of relieving his apprehension through a dream time romp. However, when Raph finally did drop off, his dreams were filled with scattered images that wouldn’t hold still. There was none of the serenity that came with his dream lover’s approach, none of the dark passion that pulled him to searing heights of pleasure before allowing him to plummet into the throes of an orgasmic high.

            When Raph woke from a fitful and unsatisfying sleep, it was near dinner time. Going to the bathroom, he splashed some water on his face and neck, cursed his reflection in the wavy mirror, and went downstairs.

            The smell that assailed him as he approached the kitchen told Raph that this was not going to be a pleasant meal. Although it was Don’s turn to cook, Mikey was at the stove, humming to himself as he finished his preparations. Raph made a face as the skillet came off the burner and Mikey set it on a potholder in the center of the table.

            Master Splinter was already seated and from his expression, Raph knew he wasn’t going to get away with eating just rice and green beans, the two side dishes that Mikey had made. Mikey’s grin was full of mischief as he glanced at Raph and not for the first time in his life Raph wished that his father was out of the room so he could wipe the smile off of Mikey’s face.

            As Raph placed the smallest serving of liver and onions on his plate that he thought he could get away with, Leo leaned over and whispered, “What did you do to Mikey?”

            Scowling, Raph answered, “I took a nap.”

            He could feel Leo’s gaze lingering on him in puzzlement, but Raph refused to say anything further. Glancing around the table for the ketchup and not seeing it, Raph got up to look in the refrigerator.

            “We’re out of ketchup,” Mikey chirped pleasantly.

            It was all Raph could do not to slam the fridge door. Instead he glared at the back of Mikey’s head and sat down. Cutting the liver into the smallest possible pieces, Raph mixed them with his rice and drenched it in soy sauce.

            Shoveling as much into his mouth as possible, Raph barely chewed the mixture before swallowing it. He saw Master Splinter lift a brow at him, but his father said nothing, perhaps understanding the byplay between two of his children and choosing not to be involved.

            “Are we patrolling tonight?” Raph asked when he’d finally consumed what he considered to be noxious food at best.

            “Yes,” Leo answered simply, adding nothing.

            Raph figured his oldest brother had either talked to Don or had himself sensed that Raph needed an outlet for his frustrations. For that Raph was grateful because he wasn’t in the mood to spend time trying to convince Leo that they, that _he_ , needed some time topside.

            When dinner was finally over, Mikey suggested that since he had cooked, Raph should clean up. Master Splinter started to ask about Don because it had been his turn to prepare the meal, but Raph quickly accepted the chore. If Mikey was determined to make him suffer for the earlier brush off, then Raph hoped this ‘punishment’ would help Mikey get it out of his system.

            Raph shouldn’t have been at all surprised when everyone left the kitchen except Leo. Rising from the table, Leo began gathering the leftovers and putting them away while Raph washed up.

            “You should have put up more of an argument,” Leo finally said without looking at his brother.

            “What?” Raph asked, glancing over his shoulder at Leo.

            “Unless it looks like this chore is causing you pain Mikey isn’t going to be satisfied,” Leo said.

            Raph grunted his acknowledgment. The point of Mikey’s pranks was to get a rise out of his family and Raph had acquiesced too easily.

            “I guess I’m in for it,” Raph said in what he hoped was a light tone.

            Neither said anything for a couple of minutes, then Leo asked, “He’s mad at you because you took a nap?”

            “He wanted me ta entertain his ass but I wasn’t in the mood,” Raph said, realizing that Leo had stayed behind to sort out the problem between his youngest brothers. “Mikey was being nosy and snooping in my room again. Pissed me off.”

            “I’ve told him not to do that,” Leo said.

            “Yeah, I know. So has Master Splinter. He ain’t gonna stop,” Raph said. “We ain’t got any privacy, ya’ know that? Don’t it ever get on your nerves?”

            “I find privacy in my meditation,” Leo told him.

            Raph rinsed the last pan and set it aside to drain, turning to lean against the sink as he looked at Leo. “Master Splinter does too, or he gets into his soaps. Don locks himself in his lab for hours at a time, and Mikey plays video games. That ain’t the kind of privacy I mean. Everybody in this family knows everybody else’s business. We ain’t got anything that just belongs ta us.”

            “Is that why your time with Casey is so important?” Leo asked, wanting to understand.

            Raph looked at him for a second, trying to discern if there was a hidden meaning in that question. Leo appeared open and curious, nothing more.

            “I guess that’s part of it,” Raph finally said. “It’s good ta be with someone who kinda thinks the same way I do. It’s good ta have someone outside of my own family who I know I can trust.”

            Leo smiled. “Someone who can validate your existence?”

            Raph grinned. “Yeah. Wouldn’t want ta go through life thinking I really am just a figment of the imagination. Frickin’ newspapers.”

            With a laugh, Leo headed out of the kitchen. “It’s okay if the humans think we’re just liquor hallucinations,” he said. “Don’t worry Raph, there are enough good people who know we’re real.”

            Raph watched him leave, his thoughts on Casey. His friend not only accepted who he was, but wanted to actually have something even more special with Raph.

            Considering how few people there were who didn’t run screaming at the sight of him, maybe Casey’s offer was Raph’s best shot at an amorous relationship. Raph didn’t think of himself as a romantic, but no one wanted to be relegated to the kind of lonely existence he and his brothers were destined to live.

            Shaking his head, Raph headed for the dojo to warm up his muscles before their outing. He wasn’t going to make any kind of decision until tomorrow night anyway, when the mystery letter writer either did or didn’t show up.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            Sometimes the brothers split into pairs during their patrol, but not tonight. Leo kept them together and though they enjoyed a boisterous game of ninja tag, Raph could tell Leo had something on his mind.

            “What’s up bro’?” Raph asked after Don managed to tag them all.

            Leo grimaced, his eyes darting along the street they were overlooking. All four of the brothers were together on one roof top, taking a quick break to wind down.

            “I’ve had this feeling all night that we’re being watched,” Leo admitted.

            Raph joined him at the roof’s ledge. “If it was the Foot they’d have attacked already. No way they’d wait ‘til all of us were together.”

            “None of our enemies would,” Leo said.

            “Maybe we have a secret admirer,” Mikey said. “They were probably dazzled by my smile.”

            As soon as the words ‘secret admirer’ left Mikey’s mouth Raph shot a sharp look in his youngest brother’s direction. All he saw was an open face and disarming smile, which meant nothing; Mikey had perfected that expression at almost the same time that he’d played his first prank.

            “It could be Foot tech ninjas trying to follow us back home,” Don suggested.

            “Do you have your heat sensor goggles with you?” Leo asked.

            “Already on it,” Don said with a grin, digging a pair out of his bag. Putting them on, he turned and looked in every direction before shaking his head. “I don’t see anything. They could be hiding though, waiting for us to move again.”

            “Let’s take a different route back home,” Leo said, “one with more open spaces so we can see if we’re being followed. If we don’t see anyone by then, we’ll drop into the sewers and take a circuitous route back home. We can double check our back trail by going through the tunnel intersection under Canal. We’ll lay in wait there until we’re positive that no one is following us.”

            “I like a good ambush,” Mikey commented, “as long as I’m the one doing it.”

            Leo took the lead, getting a running start before sailing across to the next building. Raph took a position at the rear of their procession, his mind subdivided between watching for danger and wondering who, if anyone, might be stalking them.

            He hoped that his ‘secret admirer’ hadn’t chosen tonight to follow him and for a brief second Raph toyed with the idea of purposely sabotaging Leo’s plan. He decided against that though because if someone was tailing them the odds were against it being Raph’s mystery note writer. From the tone of those notes that person wasn’t stupid enough to underestimate Raph’s family so badly.

            Above all else, Raph needed his note writer to be intelligent and empathetic. He felt a bit silly at having a wish list of qualities in a mate, given that he didn’t really believe he’d ever have one, but the list sort of happened a few years earlier while he was daydreaming.

            Those notes seemed to speak of someone who was both of those things. Raph was sure he wouldn’t have been quite as intrigued as he was if the notes hadn’t sounded so provocative.

            There were traits in his brothers that Raph enjoyed and things that were a part of their characters that he needed. Raph knew that the only way he’d ever have a lasting relationship with someone would be if he could find those same qualities in that other person.

            Raph had to admit that part of his reluctance to accept Casey’s proposal was that his friend really was exactly what he appeared to be. He had a high sense of civic duty, a low opinion of criminals and gangs, a code of honor all his own, and a love of sports and motorcycles.

            Casey didn’t read unless it was the sports page and his conversations were usually devoted to sports, gangs, engines, and women. Raph supposed that women could now be dropped off of that list. Even though Raph shared the same likes as his best friend, he realized that he wanted more than just those things. Then he gave himself a swift mental kick in the ass. Wasn’t there an old adage that said ‘beggars can’t be choosers’?

            With a start Raph snapped out of his reverie, noticing for the first time where they were headed. Leo was leading them on a direct path to the building where Raph had been finding his notes.

            Try as he might to think of a way to change their course, Raph came up empty. Anything he might do or say at this point was going to raise suspicion, especially with Mikey. Raph had no idea when the person leaving the notes visited and therefore couldn’t be sure that the note he’d left had been picked up yet.

            All of his brothers could recognize Raph’s handwriting and would immediately know he’d left that note. Raph had absolutely no desire to explain anything about his secret to his family.

            The only option that Raph had available to him was to get to that roof first and grab his note if it was still there. Putting on a burst of speed, Raph ran past a startled Donatello and then raced to catch up to his other two brothers.

            Unfortunately as soon as Mikey saw Raph gaining on him, he started to grin and move faster as well.

            “Where’s the finish line?” Mikey sang out in challenge, easily out pacing Raph.

            Raph growled under his breath as he watched Mikey run past Leo. Lowering his head, Raph willed his legs to move more swiftly, sensing rather than seeing the disapproving look on Leo’s face when Raph went by him.

            A moment later Mikey sprang onto the adjoining building, landing not far from where the loose ‘message’ brick lay. If Mikey kept running their impromptu race there was a good chance Raph wouldn’t have to worry about him.

            Just as Raph sprang across the space between buildings, he heard Leo call out for them to stop.

            Cursing his brother’s bad timing, Raph catapulted onto the other roof top. There had been a couple of seconds where he’d lost sight of Mikey and the first thing Raph did was to scan the area, trying not to look directly at the brick.

            As he looked around, Raph felt Leo’s arrival and then heard the light thump of Don’s feet touching down. Before he turned his attention to them, Raph’s eyes swept over the spot where his notes were always hidden. There was nothing there; not his note nor anyone else’s.

            Raph released the breath he’d been holding as relief flooded over him. It lasted for less than a minute.

            “Were you looking for something dude?” Mikey asked, the sound of crinkling paper accompanying his question.

TBC……………


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Word Count: 3,643 multi-chapter 2k3 verse  
> Summary: Raphael has a secret admirer - or two.  
> Rating p5: R  
> Pairing: Casey/Raph/Casey, Raph/?

            Raph had lived with Mikey long enough to have learned not to jump to conclusions.  His youngest brother had ferreted out enough of his secrets over the years simply by making wild ass guesses and then baiting Raph into giving everything away.

            A quick glance at the paper in Mikey’s hand showed Raph that it was a neatly folded square, not the ripped piece Raph had left behind.  It obviously wasn’t the hastily scribbled and perhaps rash note Raph had penned, but it _was_ an exact duplicate of the paper Raph’s mystery note writer had been leaving for him.

            In the second that Raph allowed himself to look at the paper before turning away with feigned indifference, he noticed that unlike previous notes, his name wasn’t on this one.

            Leo and Don walked over to where their brothers were standing, each appearing concerned.  Something about the expression on Raph’s face must have alerted Leo, because he looked from Raph to Mikey.

            “What’s going on?” Leo asked.

            Raph made a split second decision to brazen it out, hoping there was nothing in that folded paper to indicate it was meant for him.

            “Nothing,” Raph said.  “Mikey’s doing his civic duty by picking up trash.”

            “Looked to me like you were trying to get to it first,” Mikey said, holding the slip of paper between his fingers.

            “Yeah?  Well why don’t ya’ tell us why I’d want a stray piece of paper or any other garbage that might be laying around, Mr. Know It All,” Raph sneered.

            “Let’s find out,” Mikey said, opening the paper.

            Raph hid his trepidation behind a show of bravado, folding his arms across his plastron.  He was careful to maintain a cocky, yet slightly disinterested appearance.

            Mikey stared at the paper for a second without saying anything and then looked at Raph through narrowed eyes.  Although Raph’s heart did a backflip, he was careful to show his brothers nothing.

            “Is there anything on it?” Don asked.

            Mikey turned it so the others could see.  In the handwriting that Raph had come to know well were the words “ _Of course_ ” and nothing else.

            Breathing a silent thanks to whatever deities were watching over him, Raph snorted.

            “Find of the century there, Mikey,” Raph said mockingly.

            “Could it have anything to do with that feeling you’ve got that we’re being watched?” Don asked Leo.

            Raph laughed shortly.  “More likely it’s a couple of teenagers making a drug deal.  I think ya’ should seal it in plastic before Mikey smudges anymore of the fingerprints and then take it back ta your lab for testing.  Maybe we can bust two thirteen year olds smoking pot.”

            “If this doesn’t mean anything, why were you racing to get here before me?” Mikey asked, waving the paper at Raph.

            “I was just running, you’re the one who decided ta turn it into a race,” Raph said.  “All I was trying ta do is get far enough ahead of ya’ guys so that if we were being followed, someone would have ta decide who ta go after.  I figured they’d have ta show themselves then.  Thanks for screwing that up.”

            “You should have discussed that with me before darting off,” Leo said.  When Mikey started to smirk at Raph, Leo turned to him and scolded, “Now is not the time for games.”

            “Why don’t you ask Raph what he’s been trying to hide from us?” Mikey asked.  “He’s been acting weird for weeks.”

            “Why don’t ya’ butt out of my business?” Raph snapped.  “It’s bad enough we’re all crammed into the lair together all of the time, I don’t need ya’ trying ta crawl inside my shell with me.”

            “Enough,” Leo said sharply.  “This isn’t the time or place for you two to have an argument.”

            “We should go home now,” Don urged.

            “Yeah, let Mikey lead the way so he can be the first ta find anything we might be trying ta hide from him,” Raph taunted.

            Leo didn’t bother to admonish him, instead jogging to the edge of the roof and jumping down to a window ledge.  Following him, the brothers used ledges and uneven bricks to silently descend to the alley below.

            Taking another quick look around, Leo signaled to Don who popped the cover off a nearby manhole.  One by one the turtles leaped down into the sewers and Leo slid the heavy cover back into place.

            “We take a circuitous route back to the lair,” Leo said.  “Don, do you have something in your magic bag that can tell if we’re being electronically monitored?”

            Don put his duffel on the ground and dug around in it before pulling out a homemade bug detector.  “This will tell us if there are hidden cameras or listening devices hidden anywhere nearby.”

            “Lead the way through the L-two section of tunnels,” Leo said, using the code they’d developed to identify different routes to and from the lair.  “I’ll be right behind you if you detect anything.”

            “I’d offer ta bring up the rear, but then Mikey couldn’t see if I was up ta something,” Raph jeered.

            Mikey didn’t have a chance to offer a retort because Leo cut him off.  “Stop bickering.  Mikey will take rear guard to the halfway point and then switch with you.  Let’s go; I like this situation less and less with each passing minute.”

            Don activated his sweeping device and began walking.  The brothers trudged along in silence for about a mile before Mikey closed the gap between him and Raph.

            “I saw you in your room reading some notes,” Mikey leaned forward to whisper.

            Raph jerked his head to the side so quickly it almost collided with Mikey’s face.  “Peeping through keyholes again?  Someday you’re gonna get an eyeful of sai when I catch ya’ doing that.”

            Mikey ignored the threat.  “Who are the notes from?  Are there yours?  Are you stealing them from some love birds?  Why don’t you want us to know about them?  Can I read them?”

            “No ta all of that,” Raph answered hoarsely.  “I ain’t got any notes and I ain’t responsible for your imagining that I do.  Back off.”

            “You do have notes and I’m going to find out about them,” Mikey said smugly before sliding away from his brother.

            Leo looked over his shoulder at them and Raph glared at him until he turned back around.  It aggravated Raph to no end how Leo always came down on him about cooling his jets when there wouldn’t even be a problem if his family would give him a little space every now and again.

            Running around topside with Casey was Raph’s one outlet; his one escape from the tedium of his life.  Before he’d met the human, his days consisted of eating, sleeping, and training with his brothers.  Alone time was a 12 x 12 space he called his bedroom, as long as he locked his door.  Now it looked like he’d need to hang a curtain in front of it too.

            The idea of having a partner seemed impossible and Raph didn’t even know why he was thinking about it.  How was he supposed to have any kind of relationship if his brothers were constantly all over him?

            He’d thrown down the proverbial gauntlet to his mystery note writer and that person had accepted the challenge.  Now Raph needed to find a way to be on top of that building the following night without Mikey tagging along.  Shell, he didn’t even have the luxury of just shaking Mikey off his trail because the little snot would certainly head straight for the building where he’d found the note.

            Even if there was nothing about that note to identify Raph, he could tell from the gleam in Mikey’s eyes that the youngest knew who the message was meant for.  The slightest hint that Raph meant to go topside would mean Mikey making a beeline for the spot where Raph was to rendezvous.

            With a frown, Raph thought about the fact that for the first time one of those notes didn’t have his name on it.  That could mean any number of things, but Raph was sure that the writer was both smart and cautious.  The message was completely innocuous; bearing no clue as to the sender or the recipient.

            It led Raph to believe once more that the note writer knew a lot about both him and his family.  Leo had felt sure that they were being watched and Raph was equally as positive that the person leaving those notes was who his big brother had sensed.  The person had seen the direction they were heading and had left that message knowing that someone besides Raph might find it.

            The mystery was starting to bug him now and for Raph that meant the allure was fading.  Maybe that was why his dreams hadn’t been as fulfilling as before.  Any romance Raph had felt from having a secret admirer was wearing thin, especially with Casey’s revelation eating at him.

            Their way home was unmarred by any excitement and Raph went straight to his room, thus avoiding further interaction with Mikey.  In the next twenty or so hours Raph had to come up with a way to make that roof top meeting and avoid Mikey’s prying eyes all at the same time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            Exactly twenty hours later Raph was still trying to figure out what to do about Mikey.

            What little sleep Raph had managed to get was plagued by dreams about eyes.  They were everywhere; in his room, in the bath, in the kitchen, the dojo, even peering at him when he opened the refrigerator.  He dreamt of them staring at him from the television array and reflected off the chrome of his bike.

            When he ran from the lair to escape them, the moon overhead turned into a gigantic pair of eyes, following his every move.  It was eerie and unsettling and certainly not conducive to a good night’s rest.

            When Raph had come out of his room to dig up some breakfast for himself, the first thing he saw was the same set of blue eyes from his dreams.  Mikey made absolutely no attempt to hide the fact that he was watching Raph, seeming to get some kind of satisfaction from pissing his brother off.

            And pissed off certainly described the way Raph was feeling.  He thought about planting a fist in Mikey’s face, but that wouldn’t help.  The youngest could certainly take a punch and was quite good at handing them out as well.  They would end up in a tussle that would wind up breaking furniture and landing them both in hot water with Master Splinter.

            Sharing his secret with Mikey was totally out of the question.  Mikey would want to come with him and if Raph refused, the younger turtle would simply threaten to squawk to their father.

            For a few minutes Raph had toyed with the idea of telling Leo he had to go out to take care of something for Casey and ask that Leo stick to Mikey so their little brother wouldn’t follow him.  The problem with that was Mikey might convince Leo that they should both trail Raph.  Or that at some future time Leo might bring it up with Casey.

            The Casey situation was still raw and smoldering; Raph didn’t need to add fuel to the jealousy that his best friend had already exhibited.

            Donny could have helped him figure out what to do and Raph knew his smart brother would also keep his secret.  Convincing Don to say nothing while Raph went to a rendezvous with a mysterious stranger was another matter entirely.  Secrets were safe with the genius up until the time they smelled dangerous.

            Raph was in the garage absentmindedly working leather cleaner into the seat on his motorcycle.  Mikey had already popped in twice since Raph had gone up to the garage after dinner.

            It was well past sunset and getting close to the time when Raph usually went to retrieve his latest note.  Subterfuge and planning weren’t his strong suits and Raph was beginning to get desperate.

            Then his eyes fell on something and an idea popped into his head.  It was a little drastic and he’d be in a lot of trouble with his father, but to Raph it was worth an ass chewing to be able to teach Mikey a lesson.

            A little while later, Raph descended into the lair carrying his motorcycle saddle bags.  Just as he expected, Mikey was within view of the garage door.  A quick glance around showed Raph that no one else was in sight.

            With an exaggerated sigh, Raph stopped on his way to the stairs and looked at Mikey.

            “Look bro’, I’m tired of ya’ hounding my every step,” Raph said in what he hoped was a defeated tone.  “Come up ta my room and I’ll show ya’ my secret, but ya’ gotta keep it ta yourself.”

            Mikey bounded out of his chair in a flash, crossing the lair in a fraction of a second.  “Sure Raph.  You know I won’t breathe a word to anybody.”

            Raph pinned him with a hard look, working to maintain his charade.  “I mean it, Mikey.  Ya’ say anything and I’ll peel the shell off of ya’.”

            “I can keep a secret,” Mikey said in an offended tone.

            In no way taken in by Mikey’s act, Raph pretended to believe him.  “Okay, come on before anybody sees us.”

            Leading the way up to his room, Raph behaved as though he didn’t care whether Mikey followed or not.  His knowledge of Mikey’s character didn’t let him down; Mikey was on his tail the entire way.

            Holding the door open for his kid brother, Raph gave one last look around just as Mikey passed him.  Assured that no one had seen them Raph pulled a sai from his belt, flipped it over in his hand, and hit Mikey in the back of his head with the butt end.

            It didn’t take Mikey long to regain consciousness, but Raph hadn’t needed much time.  Raph had closed the bedroom door and locked it almost as soon as Mikey hit the floor.  Grabbing his brother underneath his arms, Raph had dragged him over against the wall from which a couple of thick pipes protruded.

            From his bags Raph had produced a roll of duct tape and swiftly bound his brother with it.  He’d pulled Mikey’s arms behind his back, wrapping his wrists together before winding tape around his body and one of the pipes.

            Then Raph had wrapped Mikey’s legs together before placing a nice long strip of duct tape over Mikey’s mouth.  By the time his youngest brother’s eyes blinked open, Raph had completely incapacitated him.

            Mikey immediately started to thrash around, trying to dislodge his bonds, but the duct tape held tight.  Raph squatted down next to him and waited until Mikey gave up and turned icy blue eyes in his direction.

            “Sorry bro’,” Raph said, “but having ya’ crawling so far up my butt that you’re measuring every dump I take is getting old.  I got things ta do and places ta go and ya’ ain’t invited.  So ya’ just take a little nap until I get back, okay?”

            The sounds Mikey began to make in response couldn’t really be taken as a yes, but Raph didn’t much care.  Patting his brother on the head, Raph then spun Mikey’s mask around so that he couldn’t see.  Confident that his efforts would do the trick, Raph switched off the lights before peeking out of his room.

            There was still no one else about and Raph slipped out of his room, carefully closing the door behind him.  On his way to the stairs he also closed Mikey’s so that everyone would think their youngest brother had turned in early.

            It was only a matter of seconds before Raph was stealing his way out of the lair.  He had no qualms about what he’d done to Mikey and no misgivings about going off without letting anyone know he was leaving.  Finding out who had been leaving those notes for him was now an all-consuming obsession and consequences be damned.

            He was still two buildings away from his target roof top and Raph could already see that no one was there.  Half of him was actually glad, maybe the note writer had decided they didn’t want to play anymore and the spell Raph was under would fade.

            The other half was apparently in charge of Raph’s racing pulse and the surge of adrenaline flowing through his veins.  Raph was hyped for this meeting and he decided that the other person was being as wary as Raph would have been if the positions were reversed.

            Landing on the roof, Raph immediately saw a slip of paper sticking out from under the loose brick.  Yanking it free, Raph opened it.

_“Your brothers know this place. Meet me at the abandoned building on 4 th and Lex.”_

            Raph slowly folded the note and stuck it in his belt.  For the first time that night he felt a touch of apprehension.  There was always a chance his brothers would find Mikey and come here looking for him, but if he moved on they wouldn’t know where he was.

            Unless he activated the tracker on his shell cell, something they were all supposed to do whenever they left the lair.  Or put the note back where he’d found it.  Neither of which Raph did as he leaped across to the next building and started running towards the new address.

            At least half of the block was in darkness when Raph reached his next destination.  Perched on top of a water tower overlooking the address he’d been directed to, Raph watched for any signs of life.

            Nothing moved and all was silent.  After twenty minutes of that, Raph took a deep breath and muttered, “Fuck this.”

            A giant leap carried him across to the roof top of the abandoned building.  Landing in a squat Raph stayed down, his sharp eyes surveying the area.  Finding that he was alone, the big turtle started to believe he was being made a sucker of.

            Before he had a chance to get mad though, he noticed a piece of paper taped to the roof top access door.  Striding over he saw his name was on it and snatched it down.

_“Down the stairs two flights.  Room 712.”_

            A low growl escaped him as Raph crumpled the note and stared at the door.  If this was an elaborate trap, surely they would have sprung it before now.  He didn’t see the point in running him all over town just to lure him into a room in a beat up old building if someone was just trying to capture him.  Raph was as dangerous in a confined space as he was out in the open.  Maybe more so.

            Shrugging, Raph pushed open the door and peered into the darkened stairwell.  Opting to proceed without a light, Raph slipped inside, hugging the wall as he started down.  He tested each tread before putting his weight on it, avoiding stepping on the center point of any of them and thus his progress was completely silent.

            The exit door onto the seventh floor was standing open and Raph checked it to make sure it wasn’t rigged to snap shut after he was inside.  Confident that the door hadn’t been tampered with, Raph passed through the opening, darting to the side quickly and pressing his carapace against the wall.

            On his right the door to room 725 was closed, a thin layer of dust on the door handle undisturbed.  Eyeing the corridor, Raph could just make out the shoeprints from one set of feet in the grime on the threadbare carpeting.

            Raph paused as he noted the fact that the prints were from a pair of men’s dress shoes.  They were about the same size as Casey’s feet and for a second Raph wondered if his friend had been play acting all of this time.  Shaking the idea out of his head, Raph told himself that Casey wasn’t capable of such subterfuge nor would he think it necessary.

            The next question Raph asked himself was whether he wanted to proceed now that he was ninety-nine percent sure his mystery note writer was a man.  He’d been secretly hoping it was a woman because he wanted some basis for comparison, especially considering Raph had never thought about what his preference might be.

            It was the lure of discovering who the writer was that finally spurred Raph on.  He had free will to make his decision after he learned everything he could about this person.  Raph had spent his life letting his passions lead him and he figured allowing his instincts be his guide now was easier than vacillating.

            As he made his way down the corridor, Raph’s eyes never stopped moving.  He checked for dust and cobwebs at each door he passed, watched for cameras, checked for tell-tale lumps under the carpet.  Nothing appeared out of place until he reached room 712.

            The door to that room was wide open.  Peering around the door frame, Raph saw a large empty room, its two windows closed.  On the floor in one corner sat a battery operated camping light, its bright glow barely cutting into the gloom.

            In the opposite corner, still mostly immersed in shadow, Raph saw the tips of a pair of highly polished black shoes.  There was a slight rustle of sound as the owner of those shoes stepped into the small pool of light.

            “Hello Raphael.  I can’t tell you how happy I am that you came.”

            It was Agent John Bishop.

TBC………….


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Word Count: 3,477 multi-chapter 2k3 verse  
> Summary: Raphael has a secret admirer - or two.  
> Rating p6: R  
> Pairing: Casey/Raph/Casey, Bishop/Raph/Bishop

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Preview image created by the talented Proffor on deviantArt.  
> 

            Raph’s sais were in his hands before he was even conscious of drawing them.

            “You son of a bitch,” Raph spat out, his entire body shaking with anger.

            He didn’t wait for whatever trick Bishop had planned.  Backing through the open door, Raph’s eyes never left the man.

            “Wait!” Bishop called as Raph turned away.  “This isn’t a trap.  No one knows I’m here.”

            “Why the hell should I believe you?” Raph roared as he strode down the hallway.

            “Please!” Bishop pleaded, his voice slightly unsteady.

            Raph stopped but didn’t turn around.  Inside he was seething, his chest rising and falling rapidly with barely repressed rage.  Ahead of him the exit door was still wide open; absolutely nothing had changed.

            He should keep going, he told himself.  Walk the fuck out and not look back.  Two things kept him from fleeing; his natural disinclination to run from an enemy, and the fact that Bishop had actually said please.

            “Sleepless nights,” Bishop began, “Praying to be with you.  Visit me in my dreams.”

            Raph closed his eyes as the words washed over him.  He could tell that Bishop hadn’t moved and wasn’t attempting to approach him.

            The poem told almost exactly the story of the last few weeks of Raph’s life.  There was no way that Bishop could know how the notes had affected him unless the agent had experienced the same need.  As bizarre as the situation was and as much as he hated the man, Raph had to know.

            “Ya’ wasted those haikus on me,” Raph said as he slowly turned to face Bishop.  “I don’t do sentimental.”

            “They weren’t wasted if they expressed how I feel,” Bishop told him.

            “Bishop has feelings?” Raph asked sarcastically.  “I ain’t a fool.  What kind of game are ya’ playing?”

            “I realize my past dealings with you haven’t been auspicious,” Bishop said.  “Since our last interaction I’ve come to understand that I was beginning to lose sight of my original goals.  The struggle for funding, the unfortunate mutant outbreak, and the alien invasion eroded my own original intent.  You and your brothers made me remember that I created the Earth Protection Force as a way to protect humanity, even though I could no longer claim to be a whole member of it.”

            “Ya’ ain’t saying much,” Raph growled.

            “Your family still maintains the ideals that I started out with,” Bishop explained.  “The integrity and honor I clung to in my youth withered with each passing decade until I thought they were dead in me.  I became results oriented.  I looked at the bigger picture without truly understanding what it meant to get there.  In essence I turned into the very thing I had sworn to protect this Earth from.”

            “So ya’ figured out all on your own that you’re an asshole,” Raph said.  “Big fucking deal.  What has that got ta do with me?”

            “Let me preface by saying that though I consider my EPF to be a hugely successful operation in size and scope, I also began to discover that it was lacking an essential component.  Keeping it functioning with military precision was easy, finding its heart was not. 

            “It was after I sat down and tried to analyze why your family prevailed in every one of our encounters that I finally discerned what we were lacking.  My organization, my brain child, did not have a heart.  It was that realization that brought about my own epiphany; nothing I created would ever have a heart until I found mine again.”

            Raph stared at him.  As a ninja he had been trained to study facial expressions, vocal nuances, and body language.  Though Raph knew that Bishop had been around long enough to have learned to hide certain markers, there were still subtleties in his behavior and speech patterns that the turtle could compare to his previous encounters with the man.

            From what Raph could see, there was a genuine frankness in what Bishop was revealing to him.  It was enough for the moment to keep Raph from leaving.

            “Just exactly how did I get involved in your efforts ta find yourself?” Raph asked.  “It ain’t like we’re on speaking terms and there sure ain’t any love lost between us.”

            “It was when I was thinking about the dynamics of your family that I came to view you in a new light,” Bishop said in his smoothly modulated voice.  “Everyone has a purpose and though a small group, you all function like a well-oiled machine.  Your father provides guidance and wisdom, Leonardo provides leadership and cunning, Donatello is intellect and ingenuity, and Michelangelo has insight and raw skill.

            “When it was time for me to look at you individually in order to see your strengths, it became clear how many there were.  You have the instincts of a great fighter, the will and determination of a true winner, the bravado and tenacity of someone who doesn’t believe in the word quit.

            “Alongside those qualities are your passions; the ability to empathize with someone who is in need, in trouble, or in pain.  You try to hide those things through bluff and blustering, but they are there if one truly attempts to understand you.  Injustice and inequality angers you, thus your fierce determination to spend so much more time patrolling the city than your brothers.

            “You feel your inability to live out in the open more deeply than the others in your family.  For you there is a sharp unfairness in not being able to experience everything life has to offer.  That includes love, the kind that is passionate and sensual and all encompassing.”

            Raph had never had anyone speak about him in such a way and he wasn’t sure what to make of it.  That he had to hear such an assessment of his character from an enemy seemed unutterably sad.

            “So ya’ suddenly think ya’ know me,” Raph said.  “All of that shit sounds like something I could read on a fortune cookie.  What’s any of that got ta do with ya’ leaving a bunch of notes with my name on them?”

            “It struck me one night as I sat looking at the profile I had built of you that you had the qualities that I had lost,” Bishop said as he removed his dark glasses.  “The memory of those ideals returned; not the entire feeling, but a residual echo that resonated with something deep inside of me.  Something that I had thought was gone forever.”

            “’Cause some aliens came along and abducted ya’,” Raph filled in.  “Yeah, I heard the story before.  I didn’t cry for ya’ then and I ain’t doing it now.  What’s your point?”

            Bishop looked into Raph’s eyes, his own dark orbs seeming larger than the turtle remembered.  “The point is that I knew in that moment you were more than a test subject to me.  You woke in me desires that had been repressed by the hatred those alien experiments forged in my psyche.  As I watched the hours of video that my agency had collected on you, I became more than a single minded soldier; I became a man again.”

            That revelation should have had some effect on Raph but all he felt was numb.  He stared at Bishop as his mind tried to equate the notes he’d been receiving to the man standing before him, a man who was his sworn enemy.  Those notes had been deeply spiritual, highly contemplative, and emotionally erotic.  The way the words had been strung together didn’t seem to fit the Bishop that Raph knew.

            “I just wanted to talk to you,” Bishop said, taking a step towards Raph.

            The turtle was instantly alert, crouching slightly as his sais lifted.  “That’s far enough.  There’s no way ya’ wrote those notes.  Ya’ had one of those high paid shrinks write ‘em for ya’ didn’t ya’?  This is some kind of elaborate gag ya’ got going.  I want the truth now, Bishop.  Ya’ give me a reason for staying or I’m out that door.”

            “Untrusting, suspicious by nature, sees the potential for bad in people until they’ve proven themselves worthy of your loyalty,” Bishop said, stopping as Raph had ordered.  “I didn’t need a psychologist to tell me about you, because I _am_ you.

            “Those words I wrote were mine.  They were words that I’ve longed to hear from someone.  I’d given up on that dream because I realized there was no one like me; no one who could truly understand my aloneness.  I am no less a freak to the outside world than you are, Raphael.  The only difference is I have a costume that fits in with societal norms.  I will live virtually forever and so will you; my tests on your DNA have proven it.”

            “Yeah, Donny already broke the good news ta us,” Raph said sarcastically, his stomach tightening at the memory.  “Ain’t nothing like hearing that the fucking ooze that turned ya’ into a mutant also enhanced your original DNA ta the point where ya’ don’t age after you’ve reached your full growth.  Gonna be a blast watchin’ the humans ya’ care about going gray and then croaking.  Seems I’m supposed ta consider it a gift.”  He snorted derisively.  “The gift that keeps on giving, all tied up with a ribbon made of shit.”

            “That is a road I’ve already travelled, Raphael,” Bishop said, his voice low.  “It makes you jaded and closed off because you don’t want to feel the pain of watching loved ones die.  You’ll have your family to lean on, but they will be suffering too.  Wouldn’t you like to have someone who can share your pain but also offer you strength and comfort as well?”

            “Stop talking in circles and get ta the bottom line,” Raph demanded.

            “You already know what it is,” Bishop said, “if you didn’t you would have stopped retrieving my notes long ago.  I want to be with you, Raphael.  I want to be your lover.”

            Hearing it put so bluntly just highlighted the absurdity of Raph’s situation and a strange feeling started to bubble up inside of him, spilling out of his mouth as low laughter.  Here he was, in an abandoned building with a stone cold sociopath, listening to the man spout love poems.

            Behind him at home was his youngest brother, whom Raph had trussed up like the Thanksgiving turkey, and his go to best friend had just admitted to having a sexual interest in him.  Absurd didn’t begin to describe it; ludicrous was a much better word.  Even the word itself sounded funny and Raph started to laugh harder.

            “Raphael?” Bishop asked with concern.

            The question in Bishop’s voice simply exacerbated Raph’s hysterical mirth.  There had to be some higher being at work here; one with a sick sense of humor, because Raph couldn’t see how his life could be more messed up.

            Bishop started towards him again and that had the effect of a cold bucket of water being dumped on Raph’s head.  He stopped laughing and backed up a step, the air rasping in his lungs as he tried to control his breathing.

            Raph watched the man shrug out of his long coat, letting it fall to the floor as he drew closer to the turtle.  Fists tightening on the handles of his sais, Raph refused to retreat further.

            “Stay where ya’ are,” Raph warned in a hoarse tone.

            “Attack me if you must,” Bishop told him.  “I won’t defend myself.”

            His jacket was the next to go, tossed onto the dirty carpet without a second glance.  Raph’s heels dug in as he braced himself, wondering what the man intended to do because it was obvious he was unarmed.

            Without the dark glasses, Bishop’s eyes held Raph’s gaze as the man drew closer.  They were black as coal, devouring even the smallest amount of light, and somehow Raph felt drawn to them.  When Bishop was within a few feet of Raph he stopped.

            “You can search me if you’d like,” Bishop said, “though you won’t find anything.  Not even a phone.”

            “Where are your weapons?” Raph asked.  “Why did ya’ come here unarmed?”

            “Would it make you feel better if I had a gun?” Bishop replied.

            “Guns never make me feel better,” Raph said.

            “That’s why I came here unarmed,” Bishop said.  “I’ve told you what led me to this; why I wrote the notes and went to the trouble of tracking you so I’d know where to leave them.  I’m here because I hoped that someday you would want to make contact.  I was never going to make the request, Raphael.  If my notes hadn’t ever spoken to you enough for you to want to know who wrote them, then I told myself I would live with that.  Why did you ask to meet?”

            “Damned if I know,” Raph said, his shoulders relaxing slightly.

            Though still wary of the man, Raph couldn’t help but notice things about him that were provocative.  Bishop was as tall as Casey and stood arrow straight.  His clothing hid a heavily muscled physique; Bishop was extremely solid and deceptively strong, something Raph had occasion to find out for himself.

            He was a much better fighter than Casey; in fact he was evenly matched with Master Splinter.  Raph reminded himself that Bishop didn’t need weapons to take him on; that his martial arts abilities rivaled Raph’s skills and the turtle had to admit that if Bishop wanted to, he could take Raph down.  That was something else that Raph knew to be true from past experience.

            Yet the man stood within reach and made no attempt to touch Raph.  Bishop’s scent was faint but pleasing to Raph’s nostrils.  It wasn’t cologne or after shave, or any of the myriad of things marketed for men; it was wholly Bishop and Raph was surprised to find it so appealing.

            “I’m a turtle,” Raph said unnecessarily.  He was confused by his own unwillingness to simply leave.

            “You are a man,” Bishop said.  “Your form attracts me physically; I believe I’ve been drawn to it since our first meeting.  That is another thing that I have come to perceive about myself; I prefer the male of the species because of their unique musculature.  I cannot abide weakness and in you there is none.  Just being this close to you excites me.”

            “If you’re fucking with me, I’ll make ya’ regret it,” Raph growled at him.

            “Had you considered the possibility that the person writing those notes might be a man?” Bishop asked.

            Raph ground his back teeth together, torn between answering honestly and the fear of making a fool of himself.  Bishop didn’t push; he stood and watched Raph’s face as the turtle debated on how to answer.

            “Yeah,” Raph finally admitted.  “I tried ta figure out who could be leaving the notes and ran everyone I’d ever met through my mind, except for ya’ of course.  I couldn’t picture anybody I knew not having the gumption ta just tell me what they were thinking.  At some point I think I figured it had ta be a man; I just couldn’t picture a woman sneaking around leaving notes on roof tops.”

            A quick gleam came and went in Bishop’s eyes and Raph tensed, unsure of what he had said to cause such a reaction.

            “You thought it was a man writing suggestive notes to you and you still collected them without fail,” Bishop said, his voice dropping an octave.  “I take that to mean that you would be amenable to a sexual relationship with a male.”

            Raph suddenly understood what the gleam had meant; Bishop was pouncing on the one thing in the turtle’s statement that could offer him some hope.  A tingling sensation curved its way down Raph’s spine, exciting his tail slightly, and his heart started to beat more rapidly.

            “I never thought about it much one way or the other,” Raph said, ignoring the last forty-eight hours since Casey’s announcement.  “The options weren’t there.”

            “They are now,” Bishop stated bluntly.  “I am here and I am yours, Raphael.  You can turn and leave and I will not pursue you further.  For any reason.  I can no longer be your enemy and your family will be safe from me and my organization forever.  I will be your champion should you need one and I ask nothing in return.

            “If you choose to stay then you can take the lead.  I know that you will need that because I have earned no trust from you.  Tell me what you want from me and it is yours.”

            True to his word, Bishop remained immobile, his eyes locked on Raph’s.  With a shudder he was sure the man saw but that he couldn’t control, Raph shoved his weapons into his belt.

            Swallowing thickly, Raph reached forward and pressed a hand to Bishop’s chest.  He could feel the hard muscle through the shirt and after a moment, moved his hand until he had felt every inch of Bishop’s chest and stomach through the material.

            Raph almost laughed again at the thought that he was feeling Agent John Bishop up, but it was partly to verify for himself that the man wasn’t wearing wires and partly to satisfy his own curiosity.  Despite his past history with Bishop, Raph found that touching the man in this manner excited him, and understood that was probably exactly what Casey had felt when he’d done the same to Raph.

            For his part, Bishop’s skin wore a hint of heightened color as Raph’s hand roamed over his body.  His breathing deepened, causing his chest to expand beneath Raph’s palm. 

            As the man’s heart rate begin to escalate, it set off a similar reaction in Raphael’s; his pulse quickening and his tail stiffening beneath the rim of his carapace.  Stepping closer, Raph decided to follow his instincts, feeling certain that Bishop couldn’t fake the way his eyes had dilated when the turtle drew nearer.

            Even as he told himself he’d lost his mind, Raph leaned forward and touched his lips to Bishop’s; the kiss barely there.  The mouth that he’d always seen as cruel and unyielding felt soft beneath his own; pliant and seductive all at once.

            Bishop’s eyes were hooded as they contemplated Raph, who had pulled back only an inch or two in order to study the man’s expression.  Inhaling sharply through his nostrils, Raph placed his hands on Bishop’s hips and pressed against him.  As he turned his head to again kiss the man, he felt Bishop do the same.

            Raph’s dreams had given him all of the information he needed though he’d never in his life kissed anyone.  After a moment of just allowing their lips to play against one another’s, Raph pushed more insistently into the kiss, his mouth parting slowly.  Bishop responded in kind and Raph edged his tongue into the provided space, finding Bishop’s there ready to meet him.

            The feeling of another tongue playing over his; touching and stroking it so wantonly caused a distinct stirring in Raph’s groin.  Bishop’s low groan told Raph that the man was experiencing something similar and Raph pulled him closer, a wave of unadulterated pride washing over him in having earned such a sound from the normally stoic agent.

            Bishop’s hands curled over Raph’s shoulders, his fingers digging into the emerald colored skin.  That too felt erotic and Raph gasped into the kiss before shoving Bishop back against the wall and pressing a knee between the man’s legs.

            A sudden low ringing sound startled the pair and they jerked apart.  Raph stumbled backwards, his eyes wide with suspicion and his hands closing over his weapons.

            “It’s the proximity alarm I set at the top of the stairs,” Bishop said quickly, his palm out to show Raph he wasn’t trying to trick him.  “I didn’t want anyone to sneak up on us.”

            “Your people didn’t follow ya’?” Raph asked.

            “No, they are under orders not to,” Bishop assured him.  “I have to go; it isn’t safe for either of us to be caught together.”

            He rushed down the hallway, swiftly gathering his jacket and coat.  As he straightened up, he tossed a phone to Raph, who caught it deftly.

            “An untraceable burner cell,” Bishop told him.  “My number is programmed into it.  I can’t leave notes anymore; your brothers would find them.  Call me.”

            In the blink of an eye he was gone, disappearing in the way Raph had come to grudgingly respect.  Before the turtle had a chance to move, he heard someone behind him and spun around.

            Leonardo and Donatello stepped into the hallway from the emergency exit, their eyes glancing from Raph to the other exit at the far end of the hall.

TBC…………..


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Word Count: 4,039 multi-chapter 2k3 verse  
> Summary: Raphael has a secret admirer - or two.  
> Rating p7: R  
> Pairing: Casey/Raph/Casey, Bishop/Raph/Bishop

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Preview image created by the talented Proffor on deviantArt.  
> 

            Raph glared at his brothers as they walked towards him.  If the feeling of being smothered by his family hadn’t been strong before, it was certainly intense now.

            “What are ya’ doing here?” Raph demanded.

            “The question is, what are you doing here?” Leo countered.

            “We found Mikey,” Don said.  “Master Splinter wouldn’t let him come with us because he was afraid the two of you would get into a fight.”

            “I hope while he was sniveling about how I tied him up he told sensei why I did it,” Raph snapped.  “How’d ya’ find me?”

            “We tracked your shell cell,” Leo told him.

            Startled, Raph yanked the cell phone from his belt and stared at it.  The green light that indicated the tracker was working was on.

            “Don’t you think I’d have a way to activate our trackers remotely?” Don asked.  “Even if our enemies turned it off or even smashed the phone, I’d still have the ability to find you.”

            “Peachy,” Raph muttered.

            “You didn’t answer my question,” Leo said, his eyes boring into Raph.  “What are you doing here?  This building is abandoned.  Were you following someone?  Were you meeting someone?”

            Raph had no idea if Leo already knew the answer to that question or not.  His oldest brother’s face was expressionless and it would be just like him to bait Raph into telling a lie just so Leo could pounce on it.

            Don on the other hand merely looked curious.  Unless he was putting on an act that was Oscar worthy, Raph was sure his brothers hadn’t seen Bishop.

            “Now you’re starting ta sound like Mikey,” Raph said.  “I hope that doesn’t mean nosiness is contagious.”

            “If you’re trying to divert my attention away from the question of why we found you in this building, it won’t work,” Leo said, his stare fixed.  “Why did you come here?”

            Raph glanced around furtively and then leaned in close to his brother as though he was going to whisper, hooking a finger in Leo’s direction to draw him nearer.  When his brother tipped his head to the side so that he could hear Raph, the red banded turtle said, “Go fuck yourself.”

            Leo jerked back away from him with a grimace.  “Very mature, Raph,” he said, his voice sharp.  “This is an empty building, but we saw a light shining through one of the windows on this floor.  Is that why you’re here?”

            “Yeah, that’s exactly why I’m here,” Raph said, crossing his arms over his plastron.  “I saw the light too when I was out trying to get some fresh air.  Saw the footprints in the dust on the carpet too.  I followed ‘em to room 712 and saw a camp light in a corner and nothing else.

            “When I came out into the hallway ta look around, somebody jumped on me from behind.  We wrestled a little and then the guy took off running.  I was gonna go after him but then I heard ya’ two stomping around like a pair of elephants and turned around so I wouldn’t get caught by surprise again.  Never known ya’ ta make so much noise, Leo.  Ya’ must be losing your touch.”

            Raph stopped talking then, giving his brothers a smug look.  His story explained the trail of footprints he knew Leo could read like a map.  It also explained why his footprints and the pair of mystery shoe prints looked as though they were on top of each other.

            The expression on Leo’s face told Raph that his brother wasn’t buying it.  Even Don looked a bit incredulous, but they couldn’t call him on a lie if they didn’t have proof of one.

            For several minutes the silence stretched on, Leo and Don staring at Raph as though expecting more information would be forthcoming.  As far as Raph was concerned, the silence was a blessing; it meant his brothers were as clueless as he’d guessed them to be.

            Raph held his tongue and waited, knowing that the worst thing he could do at this point was to rush into further speech.  He wasn’t one for words anyway; he preferred to let actions speak for him.

            “Master Splinter wants you to come home immediately,” Leo finally said.

            “Right, so I can get bitched at for wrapping Mikey up in tape,” Raph said.  “Don’t ya’ want ta take some pictures for the little shit?  I’m sure he’s dying of curiosity.”

            He’d meant it as sarcasm and was surprised when Don took out his shell cell and said, “I think I will.  Don’t you guys think it’s odd that someone hiding in an abandoned building would light up one of the rooms?

            As Don walked past him and turned into room 712, Raph said, “It was probably some crack addict or street drunk, Donny.  They don’t need a reason for the stuff they do.”

            Why Raph suddenly felt a little frantic at the idea of Don taking pictures was incomprehensible to the emerald turtle.  He knew that Bishop hadn’t left any clues that would lead back to him; the man was nothing if not thorough.  But Raph also knew that underestimating Donatello was a very bad mistake.

            There wasn’t much he could do about it though, so Raph remained where he was, trying to look both bored and aggravated at the same time.  Leo was still staring at him and Raph’s knuckles began to itch, the desire to ease that sensation by punching his brother in the mouth almost uncontrollable.

            “I don’t like what you did to Mikey,” Leo said, his tone dark.

            “I don’t recall asking if ya’ did,” Raph retorted.  “Part of it is your fault anyway, ya’ keep letting him get away with shit.  Ya’ ain’t doing him any favors by siding with him all of the time.”

            Leo huffed irritably.  “I do not side with him.  His behavior can be irritating at times, but that’s no excuse to beat him into unconsciousness and then tie him up.  He could have been seriously hurt.”

            “Irritating?  Is that what ya’ call it?”  Raph snorted.  “Living in a fish bowl is bad enough without him tapping on the glass just ta piss me off.  I didn’t ‘beat’ him into nothing but I sure would like to sometimes.  What little privacy I can scrape together is important ta me and he damn well knows it.  Master Splinter keeps telling him ta stay out of my shit but when Mikey don’t listen, nobody does a thing about it.  Mikey needs his butt kicked just ta get him ta pay attention ta something besides my personal business.”

            The vague hint of light that was shining through the open door to room 712 disappeared and Don came out.  As he tucked his shell cell away, the traces of a frown were obvious on his face.

            “That’s very odd,” Don said as he joined his brothers.  “The only thing in that room is the camp light.  You’d expect to find a blanket, or food items, or even trash if someone was using it as a bedroom.  It almost looks like the light was placed there as a signal.”

            Don looked at Raph half expectantly and the red banded turtle scowled at him in return.

            “What are ya’ staring at me for?  You’re the turtle with all the answers; figure it out for yourself if ya’ think it’s all that important,” Raph said.  “There ain’t anyone here for me ta hit so I ain’t interested anymore.  I’m going home so Master Splinter can yell at me and get it out of his system.”

            He turned away from his brothers before they could say anything further.  Stomping over to the exit, Raph took the stairs two at a time until he was back on the roof.

            Without bothering to check if Leo and Don were following him, Raph started back towards the lair, using the roof tops as his freeway.  He didn’t see the point in postponing the inevitable; there was nothing further to be gained by being topside and he’d rather face the consequences of his actions sooner than later.

            When he reached the lair Raph discovered his father pacing in the large space at the center of their home.  Though Master Splinter’s expression was unfathomable when he turned to look at his red banded son, the way his tail was twitching was a good indication that his was in turmoil.

            Mikey was sitting on the couch holding an ice bag to his head.  Raph’s lip curled at the sight, he knew exactly how much force he’d used to knock his brother out and it wasn’t hard enough to warrant first aid.  It was easy to see that the youngest turtle was putting on an act designed to get Raph into as much trouble as possible.

            “Raphael, please come with me to my room,” Master Splinter said.

            It was obvious from his tone that it wasn’t a request and Raph followed him obediently, exchanging dirty looks with Mikey on the way.

            On his knees in front of his father, the shoji closed behind them, Raph waited.  He heard Master Splinter inhale deeply and then release it; a cleansing breath to calm himself.

            “Why did you hit your brother, bind him with tape, and then leave him inside your room?” Master Splinter asked.

            “It was easier than carrying him to his own,” Raph popped off, his nerves making him incautious.

            Master Splinter’s stick tapped the floor hard.  “Do you consider this discussion to be a joke?”

            “No sensei,” Raph said contritely.  “Mikey’s been following me around for days, not giving me a minute’s peace, and I just snapped.  I needed some fresh air but I knew he’d be right on my heels so I thought I’d teach him a lesson.”

            “It did not occur to you to come to me about your predicament?” Master Splinter asked.

            Raph decided to play his best defense, making his father feel guilty.  “I’ve tried that sensei.  Whenever I tell ya’ that Mikey won’t leave me alone or stay out of my things, ya’ just say I need ta be more patient or ya’ tell him ta behave himself.  He never does what ya’ say and he don’t get punished for it.  I wasn’t trying ta hurt him, I just needed him ta see that I was serious.”

            “He believes that you are attempting to hide something from this family; something that may be detrimental to us all,” Master Splinter said.

            “Of course that’s what he told ya’,” Raph said heatedly.  “Whenever he’s trying to manipulate a situation in his favor he says he was just trying ta protect the family.  That sounds a lot better than telling ya’ he was bored and wanted ta stick his beak where it don’t belong.”

            Master Splinter seemed to contemplate that answer, scrutinizing his son as he did so.  Raph knew that the second he let his guard down his father would sense there was more going on than two siblings being at odds with one another.

            If there was one thing Raph had learned over the years, it was that Master Splinter couldn’t read him when Raph was angry.  So Raph focused his thoughts on Mikey’s constant badgering and on Leo’s arrogant attitude.

            He even added his grievances against Don into the mix; the genius who followed Leo around like a second tail.  There were a lot of times when Raph would look up to see those brown eyes behind the purple mask studying him as though he were some prime specimen.  Raph didn’t want to be catalogued, he just wanted something he could call his own.

            Finally Master Splinter sighed, clearly unsatisfied about something.  “Obviously I have been remiss in dealing with Michelangelo’s behavior.  I believed I had made it clear that privacy is as important to one’s mental well-being as food is to one’s body.  You do understand that your actions tonight merit punishment, do you not Raphael?”

            “Yes sensei,” Raph said, his eyes on the ground.

            “Very well.  You will do Michelangelo’s chores for the next three months.  In addition to that, I require one extra hour of training from you each day for a month.  You will also meditate with me for an hour each day for that same month.  We will hope that additional time in contemplation will quell your desire to lash out when you become angry,” Master Splinter said.

            Raph didn’t like any of it, but he knew it could have been worse.  “Yes sensei,” he said morosely.

            “I am not finished,” Master Splinter said quietly.

            Those words had Raph’s eyes lifting to his father, a touch of fear tightening his throat.  “Father?”

            “You are confined to the lair for one month,” Master Splinter said.

            “That ain’t fair!” Raph burst out.  “The whole reason this started is ‘cause I feel like these walls are smothering me!  I ain’t like the rest of you; I can’t just sit around down here in the dark completely cut off from the outside world.  No amount of chores or training or meditation is gonna work that claustrophobic feeling out of me.”

            He was panting by the time he stopped talking, his shoulders quivering with the strain of his emotions.  Master Splinter nodded as he watched his son.

            “It is always so difficult to get you to explain what you are feeling, Raphael,” his father said.  “Hiding your emotions behind a wall of anger gives them no room for growth nor does it allow you the opportunity to resolve your problems.  Tell me what you want from life.”

            “Huh?” Raph stared at his father.  That wasn’t a question he’d ever been asked before.  “I guess I . . . I just want ta live it, that’s all.  I mean, we only get one shot at it and it don’t seem right ta squander away even a single hour sitting around doing nothing.  If all we’re doing here is just trying ta survive, then what’s the point?  We ain’t exactly animals, and eating, drinking, and sleeping don’t cut it.”

            “Perhaps you even think about meeting someone special,” Master Splinter said shrewdly.

            Raph blinked rapidly, going over his words to see if he’d let something slip.  He didn’t think he had, so he answered cautiously, “A guy can daydream, right?  I mean, ain’t that normal?  I know it ain’t gonna happen, but it don’t hurt as much when I can go up there in the real world and squash some bad guys.  At least I feel like I’m making some kind of difference.  Like I’m leaving my mark on the world instead of fading away like I was never here in the first place.”

            “You are not worthless my son,” Master Splinter told him.

            “Yeah, well I don’t feel like I’m worthwhile either,” Raph said.  “It eats at me.  Every second that I ain’t doing something I can feel my life slipping away.”

            “Measuring your worth through danger is not healthy,” Master Splinter said.

            Raph shrugged.  “I don’t look at it that way, though I ain’t gonna deny I like things ta be a little dangerous.  I don’t count coup on the skulls I bash, I do it on the lives that I make better.  For me it’s about letting the crooks and gangs know they don’t get ta have everything their way.”

            “Because you are there,” Master Splinter said.

            “That’s right,” Raph said softly.  “’Cause I’m up there, not stuck down here slowly rotting away.”

            Master Splinter closed his eyes and tilted his head up, a sure indicator that he was thinking something over.  Raph held his breath, hoping that his father wouldn’t make some pronouncement that the turtle would have to defy.

            “Very well, Raphael,” Master Splinter said, opening his eyes and fixing them on his son.  “I will remove the confinement and add an additional month of Michelangelo’s chores to your punishment.  However, you will not leave the lair without first telling me that you are doing so.  Is that clear?”

            “Yes sensei,” Raph said.

            “Please call your brothers, I would like to speak to all of you,” Master Splinter said.

            Having no idea what his father wanted to talk to them about, Raph felt some trepidation as he went in search of his brothers.  He found them together in an uneasy grouping in front of the television array and signaled that they were wanted.  They followed him wordlessly back to their father’s room.

            When they kneeled before their sensei, Mikey moved to the other end of the line next to Leo and as far from Raph as he could get.  There was no mistaking the hateful glares he was shooting in Raph’s direction, but Raph kept his eyes directed at his father.

            With both hands resting on his stick, Master Splinter contemplated his sons.  He then said, “It seems that I have been remiss in my duty as a father.  It is my job to set limitations on certain behaviors and I have not done so with the forcefulness the present situation requires.

            “Although we are required by circumstance to live down here in fairly close quarters, that does not mean that we are not each entitled to a certain expectation of privacy.  It is a simple courtesy that we extend to strangers and it should be the same for our own family members.”

            Mikey started to squirm, clearly not expecting that to be the subject of the meeting.  Master Splinter turned his head to stare at Mikey and asked, “Is there something you wish to share, Michelangelo?”

            “No sensei,” Mikey answered, stilling immediately.

            Confident that he had his youngest son’s attention, Master Splinter continued.  “Our new household rules are that no one may enter a bedroom that is not his own without express permission from the occupant.  Permission must be granted for each new request for entry,” Master Splinter said, his eyes drifting to Mikey, making clear that he understood how the youngest turtle loved to exploit loopholes.

            “You will all knock before entering a room, and if you are not told to come in, you will not do so.  You will not enter a room when the occupant is not there, unless you have received advance permission to do so.  If you have gone to someone’s bedroom after gaining permission, you will swiftly complete your mission and exit without going through their personal belongings.”

            “Does that include the lab, sensei?” Don asked.  “There are things in my lab that I’d rather not have knocked over by anyone’s carelessness.”

            He didn’t look at Mikey but Raph almost snorted, knowing full well that’s who Don was referring to.

            “Yes Donatello, we will include the lab since that is primarily your sanctuary,” Master Splinter said.  “Honoring each other’s privacy is a way of showing respect, something that you boys deserve.”

            “What about Raph tricking me and knocking me out?” Mikey asked in a querulous voice.  “That wasn’t very respectful.”

            “Raphael is being punished for that transgression,” Master Splinter said.  “He will be doing your chores for four months, in addition to some other things.”

            “It should be six months,” Mikey grumbled.

            “You are not without culpability in this, Michelangelo,” Master Splinter reminded him.  “I should leave well enough alone if I were you.”

            “Yes sensei,” Mikey said, sounding grumpy.

            Master Splinter looked from right to left as he observed his sons.  “Anyone who does not adhere to these new rules will be swiftly and rigorously punished.  Do you understand?”

            “Yes sensei,” all four answered in a chorus.

            Taking a deep breath, Master Splinter said, “It is late.  You are all dismissed.  I expect everyone to be on time for practice in the morning.”

            Raph had no desire for further conversation, so he was the first one out of the door.  He wasted no time getting up to his room, closing and locking the door behind him.  As an added measure, he propped a chair underneath the handle, effectively blocking the keyhole.

            He had no illusions about how well Master Splinter’s new rules would take when it came to Mikey’s curiosity.  If there was one character trait they all shared, it was stubbornness.

            With the knowledge that no prying eyes were observing him, Raph stripped himself of his gear, turning out the lights before climbing into his hammock.  He took the cell phone Bishop had given him, as well as his own shell cell, into bed with him.

            For a few minutes Raph studied Bishop’s phone, looking at the number that had been programmed into it.  He puffed out his frustrations in a long gust of air; staring at that phone wasn’t going to provide him with the answers he needed.  All it did was remind him that the agent man was on the other end of that line, a thought that left him faintly aroused.

            What the shell did humans do when they were faced with the kind of predicament Raph found himself in?  On one hand was the friend with whom Raph shared everything and trusted with his life.  A friend who wanted more from their relationship and who Raph knew he could be completely honest with.  That thought was pretty exciting because Raph knew Casey would do anything for him and with him.  And even to him if Raph asked.

            On the other hand there was his arch enemy Agent John Bishop, a man who had so many dark secrets it took a lot more than one closet to hide them all in.  The fact that he was so dangerous sparked a fire in Raph’s gut, one that shot directly into his groin and fed a need that Raph was only just discovering he had.  He couldn’t trust the man, but Raph also couldn’t deny the sincerity in Bishop’s voice or the way the man’s written and spoken words made him feel.  Bishop had said that Raph could lead, and being the aggressor fit the turtle’s temperament better.

            Raph wished he hadn’t climbed into the sack so soon because he would have liked to pound his head against a wall and resign himself to celibacy.  With a derisive laugh, he knew that wasn’t going to happen.

            A lesser alternative was to tap his forehead with both of his phones, which is what he did in the hopes that some sort of answer would come to him.  After a moment, it did.

            Flicking the shell cell open, Raph punched in Casey’s number.  It didn’t ring more than twice before his friend answered.

            “ _Raph_?” Casey asked, his tone sounding hopeful.

            “Yeah pal, it’s me,” Raph said, keeping his voice low.  “Listen, I been doing a lot of thinking but it don’t help if I ain’t got a way ta get answers.  Ya’ got anything happening tomorrow night?  ‘Cause if you’re free, I wanna come by your place.”

            _“Anything ya’ want, Raph,”_ Casey said quickly.  _“I’ll be here waiting for ya’. I’ll even make sure there’s some cold beer in the fridge.”_

            “Don’t get ta thinking you’re gonna get me drunk and take advantage,” Raph said jokingly.  “We both know I can drink ya’ under the table.”

            _“In your dreams, ya’ wack job,”_ Casey shot back.

            “Ya’ just wish ya’ were in them, ya’ bone head,” Raph said good-naturedly.  “G’night.”

            _“’Night, Raph,”_ Casey said.

            Satisfied with his decision, Raph tucked the phones under his pillow and shifted around until he was comfortable.  Tomorrow was going to be a long day and the anticipation of seeing Casey and finding out if his friend could be more than that was going to make the hours drag by.

            The dull ache between his legs that had begun when Raph started thinking about his two potential lovers was starting to become a nuisance.  Sliding his hand across his carapace, Raph began to further stimulate himself, knowing he couldn’t rely on his dreams to take care of the problem.

            Gripping his own hardness, Raph alternated between thinking of Casey and thinking of Bishop.

            If he was hoping either one or the other would bring him to completion faster and answer at least one of his questions, that idea was a lost cause.

            Raph discovered that both aroused him equally.

TBC…………..


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Word Count: 3,842 multi-chapter 2k3 verse  
> Summary: Raphael has a secret admirer - or two.  
> Rating p8: NC-17  
> Pairing: Casey/Raph/Casey, Bishop/Raph/Bishop

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Preview image created by the very talented Dragona15 from DeviantArt.  
> 

            As Raph had predicted, the following day was hell.

            He was used to spending time working out, so the extra hour of training should have been a cake walk, but it wasn’t.  Master Splinter decided the additional time could be best used by advancing Raph’s lessons and he pushed his son through forms that Raph had never done before.  By the end of the hour Raph ached from muscles he’d once thought had experienced everything.

            Raph went directly from that to his chores and then on to Mikey’s.  One of those duties included kitchen detail and from the looks of things, a cyclone had hit that room.  Dishes were piled in the sink; food splattered the cabinets, the counters, the table, and the floor.  Not to mention the mess in the refrigerator and what resembled a small animal that had been exploded in the microwave.

            Knowing damn well the disaster was one of Mikey’s creations, all Raph could do was grit his teeth and deal with it.  Let Mikey have his petty little revenge, hopefully he would get it out of his system and things could go back to normal.

            When Raph walked past Mikey a little later, the orange banded turtle stuck his tongue out at his brother.  Raph refrained from saying anything; he still had a lot to do before he could broach the subject of going over to Casey’s later.  He didn’t have time to stop and yank his little brother’s tongue out of his mouth, which absolutely crossed his mind.  Raph was pretty sure doing that wouldn’t make Master Splinter inclined to let him go anywhere.

            The hour of meditation, which Raph had thought would be the worst torture of all, turned out to be one of the better parts of his day.  Of course Splinter Junior had joined them but Raph found that closing his eyes so that he couldn’t see Leo went a long way towards forgetting about his oldest brother’s presence.

            Raph had no idea where Master Splinter and Leo journeyed to in their meditation but Raph only occasionally found inner peace from sitting still.  Mostly his muscles twitched with the need to do something, and he always thought best when pummeling his punching bag.  Today’s meditation was a nice respite though, Mikey couldn’t bother him while Raph was sitting in Master Splinter’s room, and Raph got a little quiet time to try to figure some things out.

            The meeting that Raph had arranged for with Casey tonight had been a spur of the moment decision, one that he’d made because he knew he had to do something.  Now Raph needed to figure out exactly what it was he wanted from Casey.

            Raph doubted that Casey would be capable of relinquishing his aggressor role the way that Bishop had.  That didn’t mean that Raph couldn’t lead him by telling Casey what he wanted to try.  Casey was the one with the experience and Raph knew that the best way to acquire a new skill was to learn it from someone who already had the knowledge.  It was like learning ninjitsu; Raph depended on Master Splinter’s expertise to guide him, he could use that same strategy in dealing with Casey.

            Deciding on his approach with Casey left Raph feeling a lot less nervous about his meeting with the bonehead.

            When the hour was up, Master Splinter cleared his throat and Raph blinked in surprise.  The time had flown by and he actually felt a lot more at peace than when he’d walked into the room.

            Master Splinter rose and extinguished the candles and incense that he used during meditation time.  When he was done, he bowed to both Leo and Raph, indicating that they were both excused.

            Leo turned to leave but Raph said, “Could ya’ spare a minute, Master Splinter?”

            “Of course, my son,” Master Splinter replied, looking past Raph to where Leo had paused in the doorway.  “Please start the tea, Leonardo, I will join you momentarily.”

            “Yes Father,” Leo replied with a bow, eyeing Raph suspiciously.

            Raph waited a minute to give Leo time to get out of hearing range.  It wasn’t that he had any big secrets to reveal, he was just tired of his brothers being in his business.

            “What is it, Raphael?” Master Splinter asked.

            “I wanted ta tell ya’ that I was planning on going out tonight,” Raph said.  “Ya’ asked me ta let ya’ know and I had these plans with Casey all set up from a while back.  We ain’t gonna do anything but sit around his apartment and catch a game on T.V.”

            “Thank you for informing me of your plans,” Master Splinter said.  “I trust that you will use care and discretion while you are away from the lair.”

            “I ain’t gonna let anyone see me,” Raph assured his father.

            “Will you be taking dinner with us?” Master Splinter asked.

            Raph wasn’t in the mood to sit across the table from his overly curious siblings.  “No, Case is gonna order in.  Probably pizza or Chinese.  I’m covered.”

            There were still a few hours to kill before it would be dark enough outside for Raph to leave.  Being cooped up in his room sounded boring and his muscles were still too sore to enjoy the idea of his punching bag.  A video game with his younger brother would have been fun, especially since Mikey was already playing, but their relationship was still way too strained for that.

            His only other alternative was the garage and that’s where Raph went.  With the number of vehicles that they maintained there was always some work that needed to be done and it was the kind of labor Raph enjoyed.  Getting his hands dirty inside an engine was therapeutic for him and helped to take part of the load off Donny as well.

            A few nights earlier the brothers had towed two wrecked vans back to the garage from the junkyard.  Both vans had been totaled in accidents but the damage was to the bodies, not the engine blocks, and Don needed those parts.  Since they couldn’t lift the engines at the junkyard, they had to swipe the vehicles themselves.  Once they got what they needed off of them, they would return the stripped vans to the junkyard.

            Don hadn’t had much time to do anything with them after the vans were deposited in the garage, so Raph decided he’d get a head start.  One of the vans front ends had already been lifted onto jack stands, so Raph grabbed a ratchet set and crawled under the engine block to remove the bolts holding the engine covers in place.  Once that was done, he took the engine covers off and then he removed the upper and lower engine mount bolts, setting everything carefully aside.

            Raph was just positioning the engine hoist in front of the engine compartment when he heard the garage doors open.  He glanced up, half expecting to see Mikey, but it was Donatello.

            “I thought I heard you head up here,” Don said with a smile.

            “Yeah, I kinda needed a break from Leo’s accusing looks and Mikey’s antics,” Raph said.  “Ya’ ain’t gonna give me any grief are ya’?  ‘Cause I’m about done with that.”

            Don lifted a palm in a placating manner.  “Nope, you had it out with Master Splinter already and I’m sure Mikey is making you pay for what you did.  Besides, the number of times he’s broken things in my lab, don’t you think I’ve had a passing thought about clubbing him too?”

            Raph chuckled.  “I often wonder why ya’ haven’t done it already.”

            They started to lower the chains into the engine compartment and Don said, “Because I remind myself it wouldn’t do any good.  Mikey is Mikey.  He doesn’t break things on purpose, he just suffers from an over exuberance of personality.”

            “I’d call it insufferable, but ta each his own,” Raph said.  “I’ll hook it up, ya’ man the hoist.”

            Don moved over to the control panel while Raph crawled back under the van.  After Raph secured the chains to each side of the engine block and scooted back out, Don slowly lifted the engine.

            Once the engine was out of the way, the brothers set about removing all of the other undamaged parts, working in companionable silence.  It was times like these when Raph actually enjoyed being in the lair; he was working with his hands, there was a measurable purpose to his task, and the shared goal made him feel close to his brother.

            “I saw something interesting when I looked at the pictures I took of that empty room,” Don said out of the blue, his voice completely benign.

            The ratchet in Raph’s hand slipped and he scraped his knuckles across the radiator.  “Shit!” he cursed, lifting his hand to his mouth.

            Don darted over with a clean cloth.  “Don’t do that, your hand’s dirty,” he scolded, dabbing at Raph’s knuckles.

            Raph took the cloth from his brother and pressed it over the scrapes.  “You’re worse than a nurse maid.”

            “If you guys would worry more about infections I wouldn’t have to hover,” Don retorted, going back to what he’d been doing.

            Tossing the cloth aside, Raph took up the ratchet again.  “We live in a sewer Donny, it’d take a super germ ta make any of us sick.”  Clearing his throat, he asked, “So what did ya’ see in those pictures?”

            “There was a small device just above the door frame,” Don said.  “When I zoomed in on it I saw that it was an alarm bell of some type.  It wasn’t at all dusty so I’m guessing it was recently installed.  Why would anyone put a camping lantern and an alarm in an empty room in an abandoned building?”

            “I don’t know bro’,” Raph said, striving to sound uninterested.  “Maybe we interrupted a drug deal.  Sounds like the kind of thing dealers would do.  Ya’ tell Leo about it?”

            “Not yet,” Don answered.  “I planned on telling him after dinner.  I figure he’ll want us to go back there and check things out.  If that building is starting to be a hangout for drug dealers, we need to put a stop to it quick.”

            Raph glanced over at him, but Don’s head was down.  “Ya’ gotta count me out of that trip,” he said.  “I’m heading ta Casey’s place later.”

            Don looked up.  “You could call and tell him to meet us there.  It never hurts to have another set of hands in a fight.”

            Shaking his head, Raph said, “No can do.  Me and Case got some stuff ta work out.”  That much was at least true.

            “From your fight?” Don asked.

            “Yeah.”  Raph stepped back and put his tools away, grabbing the cloth again so he could remove some of the grime from his hands.  He didn’t need for this conversation to go any further.  “Speaking of which, I’d better head down and hop in the shower.  If ya’ run into trouble at the building, give me a call and Casey and I will come ta the rescue.  Don’t call unless ya’ need us though, ‘cause I don’t wanna miss the game.”

            Raph made his way to the elevator and stepped in, his back to Don.  If he had turned around, he would have seen the contemplative look the genius turtle was aiming in his direction.

            After getting cleaned up, Raph avoided the rest of his family, waiting until they had all gathered in the kitchen for dinner before venturing out of his room and exiting the lair.  He’d leave it to Don or Master Splinter to tell the others where he’d gone.

            It didn’t take Raph long to reach Casey’s building because he ran all the way, trying to stay ahead of the butterflies that were trying to invade his stomach.  Casey’s window was half open when Raph dropped onto the fire escape, so he pushed it the rest of the way up and stepped into his friend’s apartment.

            As Raph adjusted the blinds so that no one could peek inside he glanced around.  He didn’t see Casey, but it looked like his pal had cleaned up the place in preparation for his visit.  The football game was on, but the sound was turned down, and the upturned crate Casey used as a coffee table was covered in a checkered cloth.

            “Ya’ in here, Case?” Raph called out, walking over to the couch.

            “In the kitchen,” Casey answered.  “Ya’ didn’t eat yet, did ya’?”

            “Nah, I didn’t feel like playing twenty questions with my bro’s.”  Raph noticed that there were two place settings on the table.  “Getting kinda fancy here ain’t ya’ pal?”

            Casey came out of the kitchen balancing two steaming bowls on one arm and holding a couple of beer bottles in the other.  Raph took the beer from him and Casey placed the bowls on the table.

            “I thought it’d be nice ta have something other than take out for once,” Casey said.  “Beef stew.”

            “Ya’ cooked?” Raph asked in surprise.

            “I can cook,” Casey replied with a touch of indignation.  “I’m a good cook too.  Go ahead and try it.”

            Raph sat down, twisting the cap off of his beer before picking up a spoon and digging in.  The first bite gave him a mouthful of meat and vegetables, the meat tender enough to require little chewing.

            “Damn, that’s good,” Raph said happily, his first bite followed quickly by more.

            Casey sat next to him and used the remote to turn up the volume on the T.V. before beginning to eat his own meal.  When Raph was finished, he chugged down the remainder of his beer and sat back with a soft, yet contented burp.

            “I’ve got plenty more,” Casey said, quickly grabbing Raph’s bowl.  “How about a refill and another beer?”

            Raph reached out and snagged Casey’s wrist before the man could get up.  “This feels awkward enough without ya’ starting ta wait on me hand and foot,” Raph said.  “I know where the kitchen is, Casey.  How about we keep things as normal as we can?”

            Casey released the bowl and chuckled wryly.  “Yeah, you’re right.  I just got this weird feeling like I needed ta impress ya’ or something.”

            “First of all, I like ya’ just the way ya’ are,” Raph told him.  “Don’t go changing anything ‘cause ya’ think ya’ gotta prove yourself.  If we try something new with each other and it don’t work out, it ain’t gonna be because we ain’t compatible.  It’ll be because one or both of us ain’t feeling something extra.”

            “If?” Casey asked, staring at Raph.  “Does that mean you’re thinking about it?”

            “All I been doing is thinking about it,” Raph admitted with a snort.  “Ya’ kinda dropped a bomb on me pal.  I never had anybody come onto me before and ya’ were moving pretty fast.”

            Casey rubbed the back of his neck, his face red.  “I said I was sorry.  Something just came over me when I thought ya’ were already seeing someone.  I guess I got jealous and a little mad at myself for waiting so long ta say anything about how I was feeling.”

            Even though it was Raph who had initiated this meeting in order to talk things through, it suddenly came to him that talking wasn’t going to answer his questions.  He was a turtle of passion and instinct and neither of those were verbal attributes.

            “Kiss me,” Raph said abruptly.

            “Wh  . . . what?” Casey asked in startled confusion.

            “Kiss me,” Raph repeated.

            Casey lunged towards him and Raph lifted a hand in front of the man’s face to stop him.  “Not like ya’ did before, rushing at me like a bull in heat.  Kiss me like I’m important ta ya’, like it ain’t about sex but that you’re trying ta show me there’s more to it than that.”

            Raph wasn’t sure why he needed to experience both the role of receiver and aggressor; maybe it was to find out which one he preferred.  Whatever the reason, he sat passively waiting as Casey scooted closer to him on the couch.

            Twisting his upper body so he could face Raph, Casey placed his arm around Raph’s shoulders and pulled the turtle towards him.  Their mouths touched and this time Raph returned the kiss, allowing Casey to prod his lips open after a couple of minutes.

            As soon as their tongues touched, Casey let out a low moan and reached over with his free hand to grab onto Raph’s bicep.  His hands were warm and Raph leaned in further, settling one of his hands onto Casey’s thigh.

            Raph’s touch elicited an immediate quiver from the man who responded by pressing harder into the kiss.  The sensation of their tongues sliding together made Raph’s eyes roll back in ecstasy and he circled Casey’s waist with his other arm, planting his palm firmly on the man’s hip.

            Casey’s hand slid down Raph’s arm to his thigh, which he began to stroke with a strong grip.  After a few seconds, the hand slipped across Raph’s hip until he had a solid hold on the turtle’s buttock.

            Breathing heavily, Casey squeezed Raph’s ass and pushed against him, tilting Raph backwards.  Raph went with the movement, his tail stiff from excitement and his groin tingling.  As he lifted his hand from Casey’s thigh, the backs of his fingers brushed across Casey’s burgeoning erection and the man gasped into Raph’s mouth.

            There was an urgency in Casey’s movements that translated itself to Raph, who landed on his carapace against the couch cushions.  One of his legs was trapped between Casey’s and he could feel the man’s hard on rubbing against his thigh.

            In response, Raph wrapped both of his hands around Casey’s hips and pulled the man’s body even closer, grinding his lower plastron against Casey’s leg.  Raph’s cock was swelling inside it’s hidden pocket and the friction from rubbing against Casey’s jeans felt incredibly good.

            Both of them were panting as their mouths separated only long enough to change position and then they were at it again.  Casey’s hands were underneath Raph’s body, kneading the turtle’s butt cheeks hard enough that Raph started to worry he’d leave bruises.  Wiggling his hips to loosen Casey’s grip made his friend gasp again and then Casey’s mouth left his in order to latch onto Raph’s neck.

            “Oh fuck,” Raph groaned, fighting the urge to drop down.  “Don’t . . . don’t leave any marks, ya’ nut job.”

            “Dammit Raph, I never knew ya’ tasted so fuckin’ good,” Casey mumbled.  “Holy shit, I’m gonna cum in my pants if we keep this up.”

            Raph was about to tell him how crude that was when someone started banging on the door.

            For a second, Raph’s stomach lurched, and then he remembered it couldn’t be for him.  “That ain’t my brothers; they wouldn’t be using the door,” he whispered.

            “Ignore it,” Casey said, biting at Raph’s collarbone.  “It’s probably my drunk neighbor.”

            The banging stopped and Casey’s mouth drifted back up to Raph’s.  Their kiss was just starting to heat up when the banging started again.

            “Casey Jones, open up man!  It’s Ryan!  Ryan Bridge!  They’ve got Angel!”

            “What the hell?” Casey exclaimed, leaping off of the couch and staring wide eyed at the door.

            Raph sat up quickly, grabbing his sais off the corner of the table.  From his vantage point he could see the lump in Casey’s jeans and knew the man was still aroused.

            “Ya’ better let him in,” Raph said as he stood up.  “He’s gonna bust the door down.”

            Casey pointed at the bedroom door.  “Better hide in there while I find out what’s going on.”

            “Shell no,” Raph said, crossing his arms over his plastron.  “Ryan Bridge has seen me before and I ain’t going anywhere ‘til I find out about Angel.”

            Rather than argue the point, Casey tucked his shirt in where it had pulled loose during their make out session and strode towards the door.  Those few minutes gave Raph enough time to calm down and for his burgeoning erection to settle.

            Casey stretched his neck from side to side and took a deep breath before unlocking the door and yanking it open.  He didn’t have a chance to say anything as Ryan Bridge, Angel’s older brother, barged into the room.

            “Damn, I was afraid you weren’t . . . .” Ryan stopped speaking when he saw Raph, his mouth hanging open.

            “Yeah, I ain’t a figment of your imagination after all,” Raph said.  “Who has Angel?”

            Ryan visibly swallowed but concern over his sister overrode his shock at seeing a large, mutated turtle standing in the middle of Casey’s apartment.  “Some thugs this smarmy real estate developer hired,” he explained swiftly.  “My grams lives in a rent controlled building and she won’t move out.  This guy wants the place but the law says that unless all the tenants willingly leave, he can’t buy it.  They grabbed Angel to try and force grams into signing a paper that says she’s moving out.”

            There was a nasty lump over one of Ryan’s eyes and some of the skin on his cheek was raw looking.  “Ya’ try ta get her back by yourself?” Raph asked.

            “Grams called when she saw them hanging around her place,” Ryan said.  “I got there just as they were driving off with Angel so I followed them.  When I tried to get her away from them, they pulled guns and then pistol whipped me.  They said if I called the cops Angel would be taking a long walk off of a short pier.”

            “That means ya’ know where they’ve got her,” Casey said, his eyes flashing dangerously.  “Let’s go get her back.”

            Ryan was staring at Raph.  “Weren’t there more of you?” he asked.

            “Yep, my bro’s,” Raph said, reaching to touch Casey’s arm.  “Get your gear on while I give them a call.  This sounds like the kind of job where more is better.”

            When Casey went into his bedroom to grab his things, Raph dug out his shell cell and placed a call to Leo.  While he was arranging for his brothers to meet him at the apartment, Ryan watched him, his dark eyes filled with anxiety.

            After Raph hung up, he said, “Hey, don’t worry pal.  We’ll get Angel back.  It’s what we do.”

            “I’m sorry, I didn’t know where else to go,” Ryan said.  “Grams said I should get Casey because he’d know what to do.”

            “Best move ya’ could have made,” Raph assured him.  “Hang tight; my brothers will be here in no time.”

            Ryan nodded, his eyes never leaving Raph.  When Raph gave him a reassuring grin, Ryan tried to return it, his expression of confidence giving the turtle a warm feeling.  It was then that it occurred to Raph that Ryan was a good looking guy.

TBC………………………


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Word Count: 4,161 multi-chapter 2k3 verse  
> Summary: Raphael has a secret admirer - or two.  
> Rating p9: R  
> Pairing: Casey/Raph/Casey, Bishop/Raph/Bishop

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Preview image designed by the ever imaginative Dragona15 on deviantArt.  
> 

            Before Raph left Casey’s apartment to go up to the roof and meet his brothers, he asked Ryan for the address of the place where Angel was being held.  Since Ryan had come in a taxi, he would ride to their destination on the back of Casey’s motorcycle.

            The other turtles arrived shortly after Raph reached the roof and they wasted no time in heading for Angel’s location.  Raph relayed the information he’d gotten from Ryan as they ran, watching Leo’s face as his older brother processed everything.

            They reached the meeting point a minute or two ahead of Casey and waited in an alley for the man to park his bike.  Knowing his mutant friends well, Casey led Ryan into the mouth of the alley and then let out a low whistle.

            “Took ya’ long enough,” Raph said, startling Ryan when he dropped from his perch on a fire escape.

            “It ain’t like ya’ had ta deal with any traffic lights,” Casey reminded him.  “What’s the plan?”

            They both glanced towards Leo, who had appeared out of the shadows to stand next to Raph.

            “Tell me exactly what they told your grandmother to do,” Leo said to Ryan.

            Ryan started to speak but stopped as he saw both Mikey and Don glide forward.  Flicking a tongue over his lips, he said, “Grams has the paper they want signed.  They called her after they grabbed Angel off the sidewalk in front of the building.  The real estate guy told her to call a notary and then sign the paper all nice and legal.  Once grams does that, she’s supposed to phone the guy and trade him the paper for Angel.  He told grams that the longer it took, the more fun they’d have with my sister.”

            Leo ignored Raph’s low growl and asked, “You found this out after you tried to rescue Angel?”

            “Yeah, but they didn’t tell me, I got it from grams.  I called her from the taxi on my way to Casey’s place,” Ryan answered.

            “Come on, Leo,” Raph urged.  “This is taking too long.”

            “Did you confront them on the sidewalk when they reached their destination, or did you make it inside?” Leo asked, unperturbed by Raph’s impatience.

            Ryan shook his head.  “I never went in.  I told my driver to follow them and I jumped out of the taxi as soon as they stopped.  They were just shoving Angel through the door when I ran up.  I managed to knock one of them down before they ganged up on me.”

            “How many were there and did you get a glimpse of the interior at all?” Leo asked.

            “Five of them got out of the car with Angel and two of them dragged her inside.  The place is a bar; there’s a sign over the door and I heard music coming from the interior before a couple of bouncers joined the three on the sidewalk in trying to take my head off,” Ryan said.

            “If they were that brazen in taking Angel in through the front door, the real estate developer must own it,” Don said.  “Any patrons of the establishment will either be friends of his or familiar enough with the place to know when to keep to themselves.”

            “We need to know where they’ve got Angel, which means we need some idea of the layout,” Leo said.  “We also need a better count on the number of people who are inside that place right now.”

            “Let’s just rush the joint,” Raph said.  “I’ll bet after we bash a few heads somebody will start singing about where Angel is.”

            “Or they’ll move her before we get that far,” Leo told him, glancing at Raph.  “Or worse.  This is a situation that requires stealth _and_ a spy.  Since they’d recognize Ryan we need for Casey to go inside and pretend to be a customer.”

            “No sweat,” Casey said, taking the mask off the top of his head and handing it and his bag over to Raph.

            “Hang on,” Don said, kneeling next to his duffel and digging around until he found what he was looking for.

            Standing, he walked over to Casey and displayed a small device that looked exactly like a Bluetooth headset.  “This is a wireless transmitter,” Don told him.  “Fortunately your hair will hide it.  I made it specifically for you or April to use when you’re helping us with a mission.  There’s a mini camera and microphone built into it, so we’ll be able to see and hear everything and you’ll be able to hear me.  Try to look around as much as you can without being too obvious.”

            Casey took the device from him and fitted it onto his ear.  “Gotcha,” he said.

            “Order a draft beer and pretend to drink if you need to relay anything important,” Don instructed.  “Don’t assume we’ll see everything because our view is going to be limited by how much you can move around and by your hair.  You don’t have to talk loud, just be sure no one sees your mouth moving.”

            “We need an accurate count of the number of people inside the bar,” Leo said.  “Don’t worry about trying to figure out who works there and who is a customer; we’ll assume they’re all part of this gang.  If you don’t see Angel right off, then walk through to the restrooms and get a count for us of all of the doors leading out of the main room.”

            “What are we gonna be doing while he’s in there casing the joint?” Raph asked.

            “We’re going to the roof top to find another way inside,” Leo told him.  “We also need to locate the back door and any other way they might have for getting out of that building.”

            “How long will all of this take?” Ryan asked.  “I’m sorry guys, but I’m worried about what they’re doing to Angel right now.”

            “They won’t hurt her,” Mikey said in a confident tone.  “Really.  They know that if they bring her back to your grams and she’s been abused, your grandmother might tear up the paper she’s supposed to sign.  People like this always try to get by on threats first because there’s less chance of bringing the law down on themselves.”

            “He’s right,” Raph said, sensing that Ryan needed the reassurance.  “We’ve handled these kinds of people before.  They all operate pretty much the same way.”

            The furrow in Ryan’s brow smoothed a little as Raph spoke.  He seemed to take some comfort from the large turtle’s words.

            “Head on inside, Casey,” Leo said.

            “Yell if ya’ get into trouble bone head,” Raph reminded him as Casey strode off.

            “Not likely ta happen ya’ wack job,” Casey shot back.

            After Casey rounded the corner, the turtles and Ryan hit the fire escape, climbing swiftly to the roof.  Raph was happy to find that Ryan had no problem keeping up with them, even making the jumps from one building to the next without hesitation.

            They reached the bar’s roof top without incident.  It was a squat two story building and while Don waited with Ryan, the other turtles investigated the back of the building and the top floor by peering in through the windows.

            When they returned to the roof they found that Don had set up his tablet and he and Ryan were watching Casey’s progress.  Casey was already inside the bar and in the process of ordering a beer.

            “The bar itself doesn’t appear to be very big,” Don said in a low voice, his fingers covering the mouthpiece of the headset he was wearing, “and it’s dark inside.”

            “There’s a door in the back that opens into the alley,” Mikey told them.  “There are two big, black cars parked nearby.”

            “Angel ain’t being held anywhere on the top floor,” Raph said.  “Most of it’s just a big open space.  Looks like someone tore the walls down a long time ago.”

            “The only room I saw was full of old furniture stacked up to the ceiling,” Leo said.  “Their entire operation must be downstairs.”

            “Dark is right, Donny,” Mikey complained, staring at the tablet screen.  “I can’t see anything.”

            “Hold on.”  Don made a couple of quick adjustments and the picture brightened.

            Raph was standing next to Ryan and noticed how tense the man was.  Catching his eye, Raph grinned and said, “My name’s Raphael by the way, but you can call me Raph, it’s easier.  The techno geek there is Donatello or Don for short.  The one who’s issuing orders is Leonardo or just plain Leo.  And the one who can’t be still is Michelangelo, but we usually call him Mikey or pain in the . . . .”

            “Hey!” Mikey interrupted.

            Ryan managed a smile, appreciating Raph’s attempt at levity.  “I’m actually glad to know I didn’t imagine you, but it sure would have been nice to find that out under other circumstances.”

            “We’ll get Angel back, don’t worry,” Raph told him.  “This is what we do.”

            “Shh,” Don hissed.  “I’m trying to hear Casey.”

            _“This place is a dive,”_ Casey whispered into his mug of beer.  _“Even the stuff that comes out of the tap is stale. There ain’t many people in here; I can see a half dozen guys scattered around and they act like their names are carved in the chairs they’re sitting on.”_

            “I’d say that means there aren’t any civilians in there,” Leo said.  Jerking a thumb over his shoulder, he indicated a roof hatch door.  “That’s our way inside but I’d rather not set off an alarm.”

            Don continued to watch the tablet screen as he dug around inside his duffel bag.  Finding what he wanted, he tossed a small device to Leo.  “That will beep if the door is wired.”

            As Leo left them, Casey slid off of his bar stool and proceeded towards the back of the bar.  The camera he wore bounced with his movements, but the interior of the bar was visible enough so the watchers could see the other ‘customers’.  All eyes were on Casey as he made his way past tables.

            Swiveling his head, Casey gave the watchers a good view of a pair of restroom doors, a door labeled ‘office’, and one other unmarked door.  Before Casey reached the men’s room a heavy set man stepped in front of him.

            Ryan grabbed Raph’s arm, his grip strong as he excitedly whispered, “That’s one of the men who took Angel inside.”

            _“Where are you going?”_ the man asked Casey.

            _“I’ve gotta drain the lizard, if it’s any of your business,”_ Casey answered with a touch of belligerence.

            _“The men’s room’s out of order,”_ the man said in a gravelly voice. _“Too bad.”_

            _“Oh yeah? Well I’ll just use the ladies room then, ‘cause there ain’t a line in front of it,”_ Casey responded.

            _“That one’s busted too,”_ the man said. _“There’s a place a couple blocks over with working restrooms.”_

            “Don’t get thrown out, Casey,” Don whispered.

            Leo had rejoined them, dropping Don’s alarm detection device in the duffel bag.  They could almost hear Casey swallow the words that wanted to come out as Don reminded him of his mission.

            _“I’ll finish my beer first,”_ Casey said. _“Thanks for the heads up.”_

            As he turned and walked back to the bar the turtles released a collective sigh of relief.

            “Don’t do anything else, Casey,” Leo instructed.  “Stay at the bar.  We need you in there in case they try to rush Angel back out through the front.”

            Holding his mug against his mouth, Casey whispered, _“That fat slob is the first one I’m clobbering.”_

            The group saw the bartender suddenly approach and Casey set his mug down quickly.

            _“You need something pal?”_ the bartender asked suspiciously.

            _“Yeah, turn the game up would ya’? The old lady kicked me out for some girl’s night crap,”_ Casey answered.

            With a shrug, the bartender reached up to where the television was mounted and increased the volume. _“Tough luck,”_ he said.

            _“You’re telling me,”_ Casey said.  _“Sometimes that broad is more trouble than she’s worth. Women; they just don’t understand men at all.”_

            The bartender nodded sympathetically and walked over to the other end of the bar.

            Raph wondered if Casey’s lament was meant to throw off suspicion or as a reminder to the red banded turtle of the man’s feelings.  Casey always did have a one track mind.

            “What’s the plan fearless?” Raph asked, looking at Leo.

            “There’s no alarm on the hatch,” Leo said.  “Don and Mikey will go in that way.  You and I will go in through the back door.  They’ve got Angel somewhere in that part of the building.  The stairs from the top floor must come down someplace back there because they didn’t show up on the camera.  We’ll converge on the kidnappers and take Angel away from them.”

            “What about Ryan?”  Raph pointed towards the man.

            “I’m sticking with you,” Ryan said quickly.  “She’s my sister.  Besides, they got the jump on me last time and I owe them one.”

            Raph saw that Leo was about to protest and quickly cut his brother off.  “He’ll be fine, Leo.  Ya’ wouldn’t want ta sit around and wait if it was one of us.”

            With a stiff nod, Leo said, “Fine, but follow my instructions Ryan.  Stay with Raph and don’t do anything on your own.  We need to minimize the danger to Angel before we try and get her out of there.”

            “I understand,” Ryan assured him.

            Don tucked his tablet away before handing headsets to his brothers and Ryan.  “See you on the inside,” he said before trotting off with Mikey.

            While Ryan took the fire escape down to the alley, Leo and Raph leaped from the roof, the two story drop nothing to them.  By the time Ryan joined them, Leo had already determined that the back door did not have an alarm on it.

            Stepping out of the way, Leo said, “Pick the lock, Raph.”

            With a grin, Raph whipped out one of his sai and jammed it into the door’s locking mechanism.  A quick twist of his wrist popped the lock completely out of the door, causing it to open with a creak of its hinges.

            Neither brother moved as they looked at one another.  Leo held up his hand and slowly lowered his fingers one at a time, silently mouthing, “One, two, three.”

            On three, the pair slid into a darkened room, each darting to opposite sides of the door.  Light from the alley spilled into the open doorway and from their shadowed positions, the turtles surveyed a small room, empty except for the wooden boxes stacked against one wall.

            Raph signaled to Ryan that it was safe to come in while Leo pried the top off of one of the boxes.  Inside were two large canvas bags and curious, Leo tugged one out, setting it on the floor so that he could slide the fastener open.

            His surprised hiss drew the other two and Leo tipped the bag towards them so they could see what it contained.  Stacked tightly inside were bundles of cash; all twenty dollar bills from what they could see.

            “That ain’t real,” Raph said with conviction.

            Leo picked up one of the bundles and checked the serial numbers.  “The numbers are all the same,” he announced, placing the money back into the bag, “and the ink smells fresh.  They’re counterfeiters.”

            “Bringing Angel here was a stupid idea,” Ryan said.  “Why would they do that?  She could tell the police about the kidnapping and lead them right to this place.”

            Leo’s expression was grim as he put things back the way he’d found them.  “I don’t think they mean for Angel or your grandmother to survive the signing of that paper.  You’re lucky to have gotten away from them, but they’ll probably be hunting for you too.”

            “That means Casey’s in more danger than he realizes,” Raph said.  “This whole situation just got ten times worse.”

            “We focus on finding Angel,” Leo said with determination.  “Once she’s out of here, the police can be called in to deal with the counterfeiting.”

            Leading the way over to the only other door in the room, Leo ran a practiced eye over it.  He didn’t see any indication that there was an alarm attached to the door, but when he tried the door knob, he discovered it was locked from the other side.

            Unsheathing a katana, Leo quickly and silently sliced the knob off.  He caught the door knob on his foot before it could hit the floor and then rolled it away from them.

            _“Leo, we reached the bottom of the stairs and encountered a locked door,”_ Don whispered into their headsets.  _“We can hear the occasional voice but mostly all we hear is machine noise. It could be the printing press for the money you guys were talking about.”_

            “Pick the lock but don’t go in,” Leo told him quietly.  “We’re not hearing anything yet so we haven’t found that room.  Just hang tight and wait for us.”

            _“Will do,”_ Don said.

            “Let’s find that room,” Leo said to Raph and Ryan.  “That’s probably where they’re holding Angel.”

            “They’ve got guns,” Raph said, shifting his eyes towards Ryan.

            Leo got the message.  “Stay behind us, Ryan.  When we go in after Angel I don’t want you in the line of fire, so get down low and keep out of the room until we’ve secured it.”

            “If they start shooting they might hit Angel,” Ryan protested.

            “We’re going to time this so that Angel is out of danger before they realize we’re in the room,” Leo assured him.  “Don’t make us subdivide our attention by worrying about you too.”

            “Here.”  Raph snatched a crowbar off the top of one of the boxes and handed it to Ryan.  “Use it if ya’ have ta, just make sure ya’ know whose head you’re swinging at.”

            Ryan accepted the weapon without a word, his eyes narrowed with resolve.  It was that look that told Raph they weren’t going to have to worry about the man.

            Leo listened at the door for a moment before carefully opening it and finding that it led into a narrow hallway.  Almost directly across from it was another door and when Raph pressed the side of his head against it, he could hear the muted sounds of the ball game.

            “The bar’s through here,” Raph murmured.

            There was one other door off of the hallway and it was at the far end.  Approaching it cautiously, the trio began to feel the thud of machinery through the floor boards before they became aware of the sound itself.

            Glancing up, Leo said, “It’s too bright.”

            Cupping his hands, Raph held them out and Leo stepped into them, reaching up to turn the light bulb until it went out.  Dropping back to the floor, Leo moved over to the door with the other two behind him.

          Above the sound of the machine they could easily hear men talking.  Suddenly the machine stopped, accompanied by another murmur of voices.  In the moment of silence before the machine started up again, they heard a distinctly feminine utterance, something close to a grunt of protest.

            “That’s Angel!” Ryan exclaimed in a loud whisper.

            Leo’s hand encircled the door knob and he slowly turned it, happy to discover it wasn’t locked.  Pushing it open slightly, he ran a practiced eye over the situation inside before looking back at Raph.

            “The room’s about thirty by thirty,” Leo said, his voice low.  “I saw a door in what looked like an enclosed stairwell on the opposite side of the room.  Don, are you there?”

            _“Still here, Leo,”_ Don said. _“We got the door open but haven’t looked in.”_

            “Angel’s inside,” Leo said.  “She’s tied to a chair about twenty-five paces to our right, closer to you.  Near her chair is a desk with a tall, thin man sitting behind it.  Across from them on our left is the machine that’s making all the noise.  It’s the printing press.  I’d say it’s a little over fifteen paces from your door and slightly to your left.”

            “How many men are in there?” Raph asked, leaning over Leo’s shoulder.

            “There are four near the machine and one tipped back in a chair about ten paces to our left,” Leo answered.  “That’s six counting the thin man.”

            “He’s the real estate guy I told you about,” Ryan said.

            “He probably has a way to signal for help from the men in the bar,” Leo said.  “We need a distraction; something that will give us enough of the element of surprise so that we can grab Angel and get her out before any fighting starts.”

            _“Fire?”_ Don suggested.

            “Yes,” Leo agreed.  “Not a real one, but suppose we hit that machine with a couple of smoke pellets?  They’ll think it’s on fire and while they’re trying to save their counterfeit money, you and Mikey jump those men.  Raph can take the one near the door and their boss while I cut Angel free.”

            “What about Casey?” Raph asked.  “We gonna let him handle all of those goons in the bar by himself?”

            “I can get Angel,” Ryan announced.  “I’ve got a pocket knife and I can cut her loose.  If Raph runs interference for us, we can get out of there fast.”

            It was obvious that Ryan felt the most comfortable with the red banded turtle, so Leo said, “Agreed.  I’ll join Casey in the bar.  The machine is too far from us; can you hit it without being seen, Don?”

            _“I can,”_ Mikey piped up. _“I’ve got my slingshot with me.”_

            “Don, tell Casey to be ready,” Leo said.  “Ten seconds.”

            Raph took Leo’s place at the partially opened door while Leo crept down the hall to the one which led into the bar.

            Counting the seconds off in his head, Raph shoved the door all the way open at almost the exact same moment as Mikey’s smoke pellets hit the printing press.  Black smoke billowed in all directions, followed by the sounds of panicked shouting.

            The man in the chair didn’t even make it fully to his feet before Raph’s fist hit him, flinging him backwards.  He landed on the chair so hard that it broke beneath his weight and he collapsed into unconsciousness amongst the splintered remains.

            Ryan had wasted no time rushing into the room, using Leo’s directions to guide him through the smoke directly to where Angel sat.  Her eyes widened when she saw her brother, but the wide strip of duct tape across her mouth kept her from saying anything.

            Someone inside the heaviest accumulation of smoke started to yell, but the voice was cut off by a thud, the sound unmistakably that of the wooden end of a nunchaku.  Raph turned his attention back to Ryan and saw that the man had removed Angel’s bonds.  Tearing the strip of tape from her mouth, Ryan helped his sister out of the chair and they started for the door.

            That’s when Raph noticed that the thin man had disappeared.  Taking a quick look around, Raph realized he must have slipped out when he saw his people were under attack.

            “You got this Donny?” Raph called out.

            There was a loud grunt followed by a heavy thump, then Don answered, “We’re good.  Stay with the Bridges; Mikey and I will check on Leo.”

            With a couple of long strides Raph caught up to Ryan and Angel in the hallway.  Hopping ahead of them, he yanked open the door that led into the room containing the boxes of counterfeit money.

            Raph was a few steps inside the room when he felt rather than saw something coming towards him.  Reflexes made him duck as a big, burly man swung a baseball bat right where Raph’s head had been.

            A hard jab connected with the man’s kidney as Raph came back up.  The blow caused the man to stagger back two steps but then he made another sweep at Raph with his bat.  Raph’s forearm collided with the man’s wrist as the turtle blocked the swing, the move solid enough to force the man to drop his weapon.

            From the corner of his eye, Raph saw Ryan shove Angel down behind some boxes and stand in front of her.  Turning his full attention back to the man he was fighting Raph side stepped a straight right and countered with an uppercut.  The power behind the blow lifted the man’s chin and pushed him off balance, opening him up to a stiff right hook.

           The blow knocked the man out before he even hit the floor.  As Raph stood over him, fists still clenched, he heard the click of a gun hammer being pulled back.

TBC………….


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Word Count: 4,641 multi-chapter 2k3 verse  
> Summary: Raphael has a secret admirer - or two.  
> Rating p10: R  
> Pairing: Casey/Raph/Casey, Bishop/Raph/Bishop

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Preview image by the talented Dragona15 on deviantArt.  
> 

            “Look out!” Ryan yelled.

            Raph dove to the side as the gun went off.  He heard the bullet whiz past, missing him and hitting the wall with a _thwack_.

            Rolling over and up, Raph looked back to see the thin man tracking him with a revolver.  Before he had a chance to pull the trigger again, Ryan jumped straight towards him and smashed his hand with the crowbar.

            With a shout of pain, the thin man dropped the gun.  As it clattered to the floor, the thin man took a swing at Ryan who easily caught his fist in the palm of his hand.  Wrenching the man’s arm down, Ryan dropped the crowbar and threw a hard right directly into the man’s jaw.

            The blow rocked the thin man back on his heels and the only thing that kept him upright was Ryan’s grip on his fist.  When the man tried to kick him, Ryan swiveled his hips to move aside and then punched him again.

            This time the man’s eyes started to roll in their sockets and Ryan let him fall.  When the man hit the floor he turned onto his stomach and tried to crawl away from Ryan.

            “You son of a bitch!” Ryan snarled, leaping forward and grabbing the man by his hair.  “Scare the shit out of my grandmother and kidnap my sister?”

            He slammed the man’s face against the floor, breaking his nose with an audible pop.  Blood splattered in an almost perfect circular pattern and the thin man groaned as he lay in a pool of it.

            Behind them the door slammed against the wall and Don and Mikey darted into the room.

            “We heard gunfire,” Mikey said, looking from Raph to Ryan.

            “It was that . . . .” Raph began and noticed that the thin man was reaching for the gun.

            Ryan saw it too.  Jumping forward, he kicked the gun away just as the thin man’s fingers brushed against it.  With a yelp of frustrated anger, the man flipped onto his side and tried to catch Ryan’s leg, missing when Ryan reached down and grabbed the front of his shirt.

            Yanking the man upright, Ryan back handed him across the mouth, splitting his lip open.  “You murderous piece of crap!  Do you know how much better the world would be without you in it?”

            When the man tried to push him away, Ryan punched him again, rocking his head back.  Angel scurried out of hiding, running towards them before Don blocked her from getting closer.

            “Ryan stop, you’ll kill him!” Angel shouted at her brother.

            Raph could see that Ryan’s eyes were glazed over with obvious fury.  He seemed not to hear his sister, instead delivering another punishing blow to the man’s already battered face.

            “Nobody messes with my family!” Ryan yelled.

            “Ryan, stop!” Don called, echoing Angel’s cries.

            “Dude, quit now!” Mikey exclaimed, trying to get Ryan’s attention.

            Ryan was beyond hearing them, his fist coming down again and again.  The thin man went limp but Ryan refused to release him.

            Leaping forward, Raph caught Ryan’s uplifted fist in his arm, flexing his muscle to trap the young man’s hand in the crook of his elbow.  Ryan’s head jerked up, his eyes blazing into Raph’s.

            “Ya’ got him,” Raph said firmly.  “He ain’t going anywhere.”

            Breathing hard, Ryan stared at Raph for a long moment and then opened his hand to release the thin man’s shirt.  When the unconscious body hit the floor, Ryan turned his head to look down at him and Raph slowly released his arm.

            “He’s going to jail,” Ryan said, his lips curled back in disgust.

            Raph knew that Ryan was going to be shaky as soon as the adrenaline started to leave his body.  Turning towards Don and Mikey, Raph said, “Go up front and see how Leo and Casey are doing.  I’m gonna get Angel and Ryan out of here.  Tell Casey his bag’s up on the roof.”

            Mikey nodded and hopped out of the room.  Don half turned to follow, but first asked, “You need anything?”

            “No, I’m gonna ‘borrow’ this guy’s car,” Raph said, nodding at the unconscious thin man.  “Get the cops here?”

            “The feds,” Don said with a grin.  “That way none of these guys will be going anyplace soon.”

            Angel dove at Ryan, burying her face in his shirt.  Wrapping his arms around her, Ryan looked over at Raph.  “I need to let my grams know that Angel’s okay.”

            Raph bent down and turned the thin man’s pockets out, discovering a set of car keys.  “Come on, let’s get her home.”

            Leading the way to the back door, Raph checked the alley before signaling to the Bridges that it was safe to come out.  Pressing the car lock remote, Raph saw the lights go on in the first of the two black cars parked nearby.

            Ryan took Angel around to the front passenger side as Raph slid behind the wheel.  As he started the car, Angel leaned over and kissed him.

            “Thanks, Raph,” Angel said before snuggling against her brother’s shoulder.

            “No sweat kid,” Raph said with a grin.  “Anything for you.”

            When he pulled out of the alley, Ryan said, “Gram’s place is a few miles from here.”

            “I remember where it is,” Raph told him.

            “He’s had to go there a few times,” Angel said, her giggle muffled by Ryan’s shirt.

            The remainder of the short ride was made in companionable silence.  When they reached the Bridge’s grandmother’s place, Raph pulled the car into the alley across the street. 

            Before Ryan climbed out, he handed his headset to Raph and said, “Could you wait a couple of minutes?  I don’t stay here anymore.”

            “I got ya’ covered,” Raph said.  “Go set your gram’s mind at ease and tear up those papers while you’re at it.”

            Ryan signaled ‘ok’ with his fingers and walked across the street with his arm around Angel’s shoulder.  His knock was answered almost immediately by their grandmother, who must have been sitting with her apartment door open.

            Before he switched his headset off and tucked it away with Ryan’s, Raph spoke into the mouthpiece and asked, “Hey Leo, ya’ got your ears on still?”

            _“Right here, bro’,”_ Leo said.  _“We’re watching the police and some FBI men raid the bar. Where are you?”_

            “Just dropped off Angel at her apartment,” Raph said.  “I’m gonna give Ryan a lift back to where he lives and then dump this car.  Tell Casey I’ll call him tomorrow.”

            _“I will,”_ Leo said. _“Hey Raph, stay loose.”_

            Raph rolled his eyes.  “You’re worse than a babysitter.”

            He didn’t give Leo a chance to respond, removing the headset and clicking it off.  Raph chuckled knowing how much it chapped Leo’s ass not to be able to get in the last word.

            In less than ten minutes the door to the apartment building opened and Ryan appeared.  Checking for traffic, he jogged across the street and rejoined Raph in the car.

            “How’s your grams?” Raph asked.

            “She’s all right now,” Ryan said with a relieved smile.  “I told her the cops came to bust those guys for making fake money and that I got Angel out of there before she got mixed up with any of that.  The cops did show up right?”

            “Yeah, I talked ta my brother and he said the cops and the feds were both there.  That guy’s screwy real estate business is the least of his worries.  Where to?” Raph asked.

            “My place is on West 15th,” Ryan said.  “There’s a section of apartment buildings all jammed together.”

            “I know the area,” Raph said, putting the car into drive and easing onto the street.

            “You seem to know the city like a native,” Ryan said, a question inside his statement.

            “It’s my city,” Raph said.  “Started out as a turtle in a pet shop and an accident with some experimental ooze mutated my bro’s and me.  For reasons that are fairly obvious, we live under the city and try ta stay out of sight during the day.  After dark is a whole other story.”

            “So there aren’t a lot of people who know about you?” Ryan asked.

            “Nope.”  Raph glanced at him with a grin.  “If ya’ try ta tell anybody they’ll just call ya’ crazy.”

            “Your secret is safe with me,” Ryan said.  “I feel like there are four guardian angels watching over _my_ Angel and I’m not going to screw that up.”

            “As long as we’re around, nobody messes with Angel,” Raph said.  “Not with any of our friends.”

            Ryan looked out at the city flashing by before turning back to Raph.  “You guys operated like a crack tactical unit in there.  I saw you fight before too, back when I got caught by that . . . thing under the Volpehart building.  Now that I know I wasn’t dreaming, I realize that what you all did was pretty amazing.”

            “Like I told ya’, that’s what we do,” Raph said.  “Our dad is a master martial artist and we grew up not only learning ta fight, but learning ta fight as a team.  He taught us about honor and dignity and doing the right thing.”

            “You don’t spend all your time training though, do you?” Ryan asked.  “What do you guys do for fun?”

            “We’ve got a life, if that’s what you’re asking,” Raph said with a touch of humor.  “Don’s kind of a genius, so we’ve got all the comforts of home, including TV and video games.  I’ve got a motorcycle that I like ta ride and we’ve got friends we can hang out with.”

            “Like tonight,” Ryan said.  “You and Casey were trying to watch the game when I interrupted.”

            “Don’t sweat it,” Raph said, maintaining a straight face despite the quick mental image that reminded him of his erotic interlude with his best friend.  “Most nights Case and I are out busting heads anyway.  What’s the number on your building?”

            “It’s 205,” Ryan told him.

            “Okay, we’re close.  I gotta dump this car and I don’t want anyone ta see it in front of your building, so I’m gonna let ya’ out a couple blocks away,” Raph said.

            “Come up for a beer,” Ryan said quickly.  He laughed to cover how abrupt his invitation was.  “I owe you one for cutting into your evening.”

            Raph thought about it for a second and then shrugged.  “Sure.  A beer sounds good.  I’ll let ya’ out here and take the car a little farther away, then meet ya’ back at your place.  Where’s your apartment located?”

            “I’m on the fourth floor, apartment 417,” Ryan said.

            “Which side of the building?” Raph asked.

            “Oh,” Ryan said, realizing that Raph couldn’t just take the elevator.  “It’s on the south side.”

            “Turn on your lights and open a window,” Raph said.  “I’ll meet ya’ up there.”

            Raph pulled the car over as far as he could, double parking long enough for Ryan to jump out.  Once the man was on the sidewalk, Raph drove off, watching Ryan in his rear view mirror until he was out of sight.

            Driving another half mile, Raph found an alley he could leave the car in and quickly parked it there, shoving the keys under the floor mat.  He didn’t have fingerprints to leave, but he used a rag from his belt to wipe off any that Angel or Ryan might have left.

            As he worked, Raph thought about the invitation he’d just accepted.  He probably should have said no; his brothers would wonder what was taking him so long to get home.  It was a good bet that Ryan didn’t really need the complication of a friendship with a mutant turtle either.

            The truth was that Raph found himself to be intrigued by the man.  Their first meeting happened because Ryan was treasure hunting and had gotten in a situation that was a little too deep for him.  To Raph that meant the guy had an adventurous spirit and that he took things in stride was clear from the way he’d adapted to meeting four mutated turtles.

            Raph also liked the way Ryan had handled himself at the bar.  He didn’t freeze up in the face of danger like so many people did; he stayed calm and reacted to changing situations with good sense.

            As Raph made his way to the roof of the nearest building and started jogging back towards Ryan’s apartment, he smiled to himself.  Watching Ryan take the head man down had proven that Angel’s brother knew how to use his fists.  Chuckling, Raph had to admit he enjoyed finding out that Ryan had a bit of a temper as well; that was something the red banded hot head could relate to.

            Approaching Ryan’s apartment building from the south, Raph immediately saw the brightly lit unit on the fourth floor and was happy to note that the window was wide open.  Jumping across the space between buildings, Raph leaped down to the fire escape beneath Ryan’s window and hoisted himself over the sill.

            Ryan was in the process of converting his pull out bed back into a couch when Raph appeared.

            “Damn, I keep forgetting how silent you can be,” Ryan said with a laugh.  “Sorry for the mess; this is an efficiency apartment so the living room and bedroom are one and the same.”

            “I live in the sewers pal, this place looks great ta me.  I’m gonna pull the shades if ya’ don’t mind; ya’ don’t want any looky-loos seeing a giant turtle roaming around your apartment,” Raph said as he adjusted the venetian blinds.

            While he was doing that, Ryan disappeared around a corner and then returned a second later carrying a couple of beer bottles.  He pulled a small end table over in front of the couch, set the beer down, and took a seat.

            “Someday I hope to make a solid enough living to be able to afford an apartment with an actual bedroom and a kitchen that’s bigger than a closet,” Ryan said as Raph sat down on the other end of the couch.

            “At least ya’ live above ground and ya’ have a window ta look through,” Raph said, accepting the beer Ryan handed to him.  “I’d like ta wake up ta see the sun shining in my room.”

            “Here’s to counting your blessings,” Ryan said with a grin, tapping his bottle against Raph’s.  “Thanks for reminding me of that and for saving Angel.”

            “Ya’ don’t have ta thank me for that,” Raph said.  “I told ya’ before that we look out for our friends.”

            “I know, but it was more than that,” Ryan said, looking at the label on his bottle.  “Grams and I haven’t been getting along for a while now.  She disapproves of some of my life style choices and that’s why I moved out.  I didn’t want to leave her by herself, but the arguments weren’t good for Angel.  Tonight grams told me she was proud of me for the way I was there for my sister.”

            “Ya’ care for both of them, even I can see that,” Raph said, taking a swig from his bottle.

            “I do,” Ryan admitted.  “What I’m trying to say is that I feel a bit like a liar letting her think I managed that by myself.”

            “Listen ta me,” Raph said, leaning a little towards his new friend.  “Ya’ did manage that by yourself.  If ya’ hadn’t recognized that the kind of help ya’ needed wasn’t from the cops there ain’t no telling what would have happened ta Angel.  The fact that ya’ went straight ta Casey’s tells me ya’ got some street smarts.  Ya’ sent a message tonight that it ain’t a good idea ta screw with your family and that word will get out to where it counts.  Smartest thing ya’ could have done.”

            Ryan’s cheeks reddened and he drank some beer in an attempt to hide the flush of color.  Drinking from his own bottle, Raph’s eyes remained fixed on the man as he enjoyed the telltale signs of humility.

            “You know, when I was hitting that man, I sort of lost it,” Ryan said, watching the beer slosh in his bottle as he twirled it.  “I could hear kind of a buzzing sound in the background that I’m pretty sure now was Angel and your brothers telling me to stop.  The only voice that actually penetrated was yours.”

            Raph cleared his throat as he felt his pulse quicken.  “Yeah?  It probably helped that I grabbed your arm too.”

            Ryan glanced up at him and chuckled.  “It did get my attention.  How did you guys meet Angel anyway?  She’s never told me anything about you.”

            Grinning, Raph said, “That’s ‘cause she swore not ta tell anyone and that kid’s word is good.  We met her one night when she came ta get us so we could rescue Casey from the Purple Dragons.  He’d managed ta get himself caught and if ya’ know anything about the history between them, ya’ know the Dragons hate him as much as he hates them.”

            “They burned his old man’s store down,” Ryan said.  “I hate them too.  For a while there I was really worried about Angel joining up with them.  It was about when grams and I had started arguing so much and I spent a lot of time away from home.  Angel felt like she had no family and I guess hooking up with the Dragons was how she thought she’d get one.  Then Angel suddenly dumped them and grams said it was because Casey . . . .”

            He stopped talking and stared at Raph, his brow furrowed.  “What?” Raph asked with concern.

            “That’s how you met Angel, wasn’t it?  Casey went to get her away from the Dragons and got caught and you guys rescued him and Angel at the same time,” Ryan said excitedly.  “Man, I really feel like I owe you a lot.”

            Raph finished his beer, feeling slightly embarrassed.  “Ya’ don’t owe us anything,” he said.  “Everybody has ta have a purpose in life and we found ours.  Pounding on Purple Dragons is just a side benefit.”

            “Hang on, I’ll get you another beer,” Ryan said, jumping up and hurrying to the kitchen before Raph could protest.

            Not that Raph was about to.  He felt very relaxed around Ryan and was enjoying the conversation and the company.  Raph also recognized that while he felt a strong attraction to the man, the tension that accompanied his interactions with Casey and Bishop wasn’t there with Ryan.

            Returning quickly, Ryan handed the fresh bottle to Raph and twisted the cap off his own before sitting down again, this time a little closer to the turtle.

            “So,” Raph began after swallowing some beer, “what is it you do?  Are you still working construction?”

            “Yeah, I’ve got a union card and that’s something you don’t let loose of once it’s yours,” Ryan said.  “There’s not enough jobs though; seems like there’s never enough work and then you’re at the mercy of the weather.  I had to find another way to make extra income because I really want to send Angel to college.  She’s smart; after the Purple Dragon incident she buckled down at school and brought her grades right back up again.”

            “You’re not still treasure hunting I hope?” Raph asked with a cocky grin.

            Ryan returned the smile, waving his hand dismissively.  “That Volpehart experience cured me, at least of dry land attempts.  I suppose what I do now is close to treasure hunting only it has a more legitimate name.  I own a half interest in a salvage operation; a buddy of mine and I bought a boat fitted with dredging equipment.

            “He grew up in a fishing family so we supplement our income by fishing and crabbing.  Anytime we have a few free hours we go out to areas where boats were reported to have gone down; places that haven’t been claimed.  We haven’t found treasure yet, but we have pulled up enough stuff to pay off our debts.  That’s a good feeling and I really enjoy being out on the ocean, there’s a sense of freedom out there you don’t get when you’re cooped up in the big city.”

            Raph watched him drink beer, his eyes drawn to Ryan’s muscular neck.  After a couple of seconds he recalled himself and drank from his own bottle.  He was reluctant to leave and didn’t want to finish his drink too quickly.  Not that Ryan seemed in any hurry to part from Raph’s company either.

            “Sounds like ya’ stay pretty busy,” Raph said.  “That leave ya’ any time for your girlfriend?”

            It was a question Raph felt like he had to ask; something he’d never even thought about when he and Casey became friends.  Raph tried to believe it was just idle curiosity, but he knew he didn’t need to try and fool himself.

            Ryan picked at the label on his beer bottle, a hint of color rising on his neck.  “I don’t have one of those.”

            The way Ryan answered the question made Raph ask, “Boyfriend?”

            More red crept up Ryan’s neck and his cheeks grew flushed once more.  A corner of Raph’s mouth lifted; he couldn’t imagine how the man could look any more attractive.

            “I broke up with the last one a few months ago,” Ryan finally admitted.  Looking up at Raph, he said, “That’s the lifestyle choice grams and I didn’t agree on.  She didn’t want Angel subjected to what she refers to as unnatural and she was hoping for great grandkids.  I tried to explain that it’s not really a ‘choice’; it’s the way I am.  She doesn’t understand.”

            He was looking at Raph almost pleadingly, as though hoping that his new friend wouldn’t dislike him because of who he was.  Raph gave him a reassuring smile and said, “It’d be like someone asking me not ta be a turtle.”

            The look of relief on Ryan’s face was rewarding.  “How about you?  Do you date?” Ryan asked.

            “Well now that’s a little more complicated,” Raph said amusingly.  “It’s hard for a mutant turtle who basically has ta stay a secret from the inhabitants of the city they live in ta find someone ta date.  Up until recently I didn’t know if I was gay or straight.”

            “Recently?” Ryan prompted.

            Raph flicked his tongue across his lower lip and shifted on the couch.  “Some stuff came up with an old acquaintance of ours and it got me ta realize that women don’t really do it for me.”

            “So it’s still pretty new to you?” Ryan asked.

            “I suppose so,” Raph answered.  “I don’t sweat it much ‘cause I’ve been dealing with the stigma of being a giant turtle all my life; being gay seems pretty small in comparison.”

            Ryan laughed and Raph joined him, enjoying the ease with which they’d both just shared the secrets in their lives.

            They both took a moment to drink some beer and then Ryan said shyly, “You know, sometime if you wanted to enjoy a little sunshine, you could come out on the boat with me.  Out there on the open ocean no one would see you.  We could do some fishing and just chill for the day.”

            Raph sat up straighter, the idea of lounging in the sun out on the open water very appealing.  “Ya’ mean it?  That sounds great!” he exclaimed enthusiastically.  “I could bring the beer.”

            “We’ll eat what we catch,” Ryan said, his eyes sparkling.  “Whoever catches the least number of fish has to clean them.”

            “You’re on,” Raph said.  “You’re gonna regret making that kind of deal with a turtle.”

            Ryan ripped the edge off the newspaper that was lying next to the couch and wrote on it, passing it over to Raph.  “Here’s my phone number.  Call me and we’ll work out a day when I can have the boat to myself and you can get away from your family.”

            Raph glanced at the numbers on the paper, committing them to memory.  He folded the paper and put it into a compartment in his belt for show; before he got back to the lair he’d eat that paper so as not to take chances on Mikey finding it.

            “If you wanted to just hang out sometime before then I could order a pizza,” Ryan said timidly.  “I’ve got some pretty good video games or we could watch a movie.  There’s always a game on TV if you like sports.”

            The hint of bashfulness was irresistible and Raph found himself nodding in agreement.  “I’d like that.”

            They stared at each other for a few minutes, neither saying anything, but the silence was in no way uncomfortable.  Then Raph realized the time and knew if he didn’t leave soon he was going to have to run a gauntlet of questions when he got home.

            Polishing off his beer, Raph set the empty bottle on the table and stood up.  “I hate ta drink and run, but my bro’s are gonna be tracking me pretty soon.  Thanks for the beer; it was nice ta finally get ta know ya’.”

            Ryan set his bottle down and followed Raph to the window.  “How . . . how are you getting home?” he asked.

            Raph smiled.  “The roof tops are my super highway.  You’d be surprised at how fast ya’ can travel across this city when ya’ stay away from the traffic.”

            While Ryan pulled up the blinds and opened the window, Raph stayed to the side, glancing out to make sure there were no curious watchers looking in their direction.  For the first time that night things felt a bit awkward between them and Raph hoped it was because Ryan didn’t really want him to leave.  That was exactly how Raph himself was feeling.

            After a moment of silence where both of them stared out at the night sky, Ryan sighed and turned towards Raph, holding out his hand.  Raph quickly took it, finding the man’s clasp to be warm and strong.

            “I know I keep saying thank you, but I don’t feel like I can say it enough,” Ryan said.

            “The fact that ya’ didn’t freak out over my being a mutant is plenty of thanks,” Raph told him.

            They released each other’s hand simultaneously, which was a good sign.  Raph slipped over the sill and onto the fire escape and Ryan leaned out of the window.

            “Good-bye,” Ryan said.  “I hope I’ll get to see you again soon.”

            “Me too,” Raph said, meaning it.

            He ran lightly up the stairs and saluted to Ryan before vaulting onto the roof.

            As Raph made his way back home his mind kept dwelling on Ryan.  Though Raph wasn’t very experienced, he felt pretty confident in believing that Ryan had been flirting with him.

            It was subtle and disarming and completely different from the way both Casey and Bishop had approached him.  The entire exchange with Ryan had felt more balanced than anything he’d experienced with the other two men.

            The one thing Raph knew for sure was that he wanted to spend more time with Ryan; a lot more time.  But he didn’t want to go into it the way he was now; a complete virgin, totally naïve.

            If anything more was to come of his interactions with Ryan, then Raph needed to know what he was doing.  It just so happened he had a couple of ways to gain the knowledge that would prevent his looking like a clumsy oaf.

            Before Raph dropped into the sewers, he used the cell phone Bishop had given him and made a call.

TBC…………..


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Word Count: 6,534 multi-chapter 2k3 verse  
> Summary: Raphael has a secret admirer - or two.  
> Rating p11: NC-17  
> Pairing: Casey/Raph/Casey, Bishop/Raph/Bishop, Ryan/Raph/Ryan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This provocative preview image was created by the ultra talented Dragona15 from DeviantArt.  
> 

            Raph woke up earlier than usual the morning after meeting Ryan.  His dreams had been chaotic and he couldn’t get a handle on any of them, they flitted through a dizzying array of images that left Raph feeling more tired than when he’d gone to sleep.

            Lying in his hammock with his eyes closed, Raph tried to sort through some of his dreams.  He knew that he’d seen Casey, Bishop, and Ryan in them at various times and that some of the sequences had been erotic.  Even if he didn’t remember that part, the way his blanket stuck to his plastron was evidence enough.

            Now that he was alone and relaxed, his emotions took a back seat to some serious contemplation.  He was starting to regret that phone call he’d made to Bishop.  Raph almost felt like cursing himself for acting at a time when he was in emotional turmoil.  His brothers were always telling him that leaping without looking was going to be the death of him.  They might just be right.

            Bishop’s voice had been low and cautious when he’d answered the phone. _“Raphael?”_

            Raph had never paid much attention to the tonal qualities of Bishop’s speech, he was always much too focused on what the man was saying.  Now even that single word spoken in Bishop’s deep, rich voice sent a shiver down Raph’s spine.

            “Ya’ got a helicopter, Bishop?” Raph asked without preliminaries.

            _“Of course I do,”_ Bishop said. _“I have several.”_

            “I don’t need several, I only need one,” Raph told him.  “I’m gonna assume ya’ know how ta fly it?”

            _“Your assumption would be correct,”_ Bishop answered.

            “I’m gonna be on the roof of the Hanover building at midnight tonight,” Raph said.  “Ya’ know the place?”

            _“The thirty story building with the roof top parking?”_ Bishop asked.

            “That’s the place,” Raph said.  “Come alone and don’t land until ya’ see me.  When ya’ touch down, I’m gonna jump in and then ya’ take off immediately.  If ya’ don’t see me, forget about it and leave.”

            _“Because you might not have been able to lose whoever you’re afraid will follow you.”_ Bishop said.

            “You’re quick, Bishop.  I’ll give ya’ that much,” Raph said.

            _“I’ll be there,”_ Bishop said. _“Where to after that?”_

            “You’ll know after ya’ pick me up,” Raph said.  “Later.”

            He’d hung up quickly to avoid further questions, even though Raph was pretty sure Bishop wouldn’t ask any.  That was one thing about Bishop that Raph could count on, he was a man who knew when to stop talking.

            The fact that the man’s voice had such an effect on him even after the interlude with Casey made Raph second guess his reasoning from the night before.  There was no denying that he was instantly drawn to Ryan, but now Raph wondered if that was because he was already worked up from playing couch cushion bingo with Casey.

            When Ryan had showed up at Casey’s place, Raph had been at the point where he’d have been agreeable to anything Casey had suggested, just as long as it gave Raph the chance to get his rocks off.  On some level it was damn amazing how that kind of arousal erased rational thought.

            Maybe everything that came after that was colored by Raph’s heightened libido, including meeting Ryan again.

            As Raph lay there thinking over the time he’d spent at Ryan’s apartment, he felt a curl of warmth in his chest.  Even after a night’s sleep and a wet dream release, Raph still experienced the strong pull of attraction for the man.  It was something he definitely wanted to explore.

            There was still Casey and Bishop to consider.  Raph realized that he couldn’t just use his friend as a training tool although he’d certainly thought about doing so.  That wouldn’t be right, not to mention both unfair and injurious.  Nor did he want to simply dump Casey and tell him ‘let’s stay friends because I can’t deal with the sex part’.

            The truth was that Raph did want Casey in that way.  Last night was proof enough because Raph knew there was no way he’d get as excited as he did if Casey didn’t turn him on.

            He could tell Casey that he wasn’t sure he could promise to be with him exclusively.  Doing that would no doubt raise the man’s suspicions and Raph would probably find himself dealing with another jealous outburst.  Or Casey could just tell him to fuck off.  That would be peachy, Raph told himself sarcastically.

            Rubbing a hand across his face, Raph finally opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling, immediately spotting the place where he’d hidden Bishop’s notes.  Those damn things had been the start of it all.

            He’d made a date with Bishop for tonight but that didn’t mean Raph had to show up.  By telling Bishop to move on if he didn’t see Raph the turtle had given himself a way out.  If he had any sense at all, he’d take it and forget about Bishop.  There was no guarantee that Bishop wasn’t just playing some head game with him and that he really had a sinister motivation for trying to act as though he’d fallen for Raph.

            Raph swung his legs over the side of his hammock and sat up.  Letting the gentle sway of the hammock lull him, he contemplated his next set of moves.  This was one of the reasons that Raph had both a bed and a hammock; the latter had the ability to soothe even his worst moods.

            The problem with dumping Bishop out of hand brought up some complex issues.  First was the fact that he was the one who had awakened Raph’s sexuality.  Those fucking notes.  Those damn seductive notes that fueled Raph’s waking imagination and turned his dreams into an almost endlessly running reel of eroticism.

            Second was that Bishop had offered to let Raph take the lead in anything they did.  For Bishop it was a way of extending an olive branch and perhaps gaining Raph’s trust.  For Raph it was an opportunity to be the one doing the fucking instead of the one giving it up.  Casey had already shown an aggressive desire to top and Raph didn’t want to fight about it while he was horny as hell.

            Third had to do with the question of DNA, longevity, and the knowledge that he was going to outlive Casey, April, Ryan, and every other normal human he knew and cared about.  Bishop had already been on that road for a while and could probably help Raph through the emotional upheavals those losses were sure to bring.  If Bishop were his lover, then Raph wouldn’t have the added burden of watching his partner die.

            The fourth thing Raph could think of as a pro argument had a con side to it.  Bishop was powerful in more than a physical sense.  He had almost limitless resources and the ability to do nearly anything he wanted by maintaining a low profile, even as he pulled strings from the background.  With that kind of influence, Bishop could do many things for Raph.

            He could also do a lot of things to Raph if he got pissed off at the turtle or felt as though he’d been scorned.  Raph had no illusions about their ability to hide from the man; properly motivated Bishop _could_ find them.  That was a kind of fire that Raph wasn’t sure he wanted to play with because he wouldn’t just be putting himself at risk, he’d be placing his entire family there as well.

            Raph had a pretty accurate idea of what his father and brothers would tell him if he were to ask for their advice.  Master Splinter would tell him that celibacy was his duty and that he should rise above his raw desires.  Mikey would get endless hours of amusement from his predicament, Don would quote statistics in a mind numbing array, and Leo would derive great pleasure from reminding him that his rash emotions had already put them all in danger on a number of occasions.

            With a grimace, Raph hopped out of the hammock and began pulling on his gear.  Screw that and screw Leo.  Or better yet let Leo’s high horse screw him.  If dealing with Bishop started to turn bad, Raph would make sure that none of the fallout hit his family, even if that meant killing Bishop in his sleep.

            After a trip to the bathroom, Raph headed down to the kitchen.  He was happy to see that Mikey’s door was closed, which meant the goofball was still sawing logs.  The lights were on in the dojo but there were no sounds coming from within, meaning that Leo was already in there warming up.

            Raph found Master Splinter in the kitchen, sitting at the table and enjoying a morning cup of tea.  Glancing at the coffee pot, Raph noted that it was empty so he knew the genius was either working on something or sound asleep.  Shaking his head at his brother’s predictability, Raph set about making coffee.

            “’Morning, Master Splinter,” Raph said as he filled the pot with water.

            “Good morning, Raphael,” Master Splinter said.

            “The kitchen sure looks nice this morning,” Raph said, knowing he wasn’t very subtle.

            Master Splinter chuckled.  “Yes it does.  It will remain that way too, as I have informed your brother Michelangelo that if another hurricane hits this room he will resume doing his own chores.”

            Raph brought a cup of coffee and dry piece of toast to the table and joined his father.  He would eat a larger breakfast later; Raph didn’t like feeling full while he practiced ninjitsu.

            “Thanks, Master Splinter,” Raph said gratefully.

            His father smiled benignly, helping to elevate Raph’s mood.  For a minute or two they enjoyed a companionable silence and then Master Splinter cleared his throat.

            “Your brother Leonardo told me that the four of you had to rescue Angel Bridge last night,” Master Splinter said.  “I trust she is well?”

            Raph nodded, swallowing toast before he answered, “Yeah.  I took her home ta her grandma and then dropped her brother off at his place.  Neither of them got hurt and the cops got the kidnappers, so the family ain’t got ta worry about them.”

            “However her brother now knows of your existence,” Master Splinter said.  “Can he be trusted?”

            Thinking about the best way to answer that, Raph said, “Yeah, he’s a stand-up guy.  He knows we look out for Angel and we’re friends with Casey.  He’ll keep it to himself.”

            “This is why you returned home later than your brothers?  You took the extra time to ascertain his trustworthiness?”  Master Splinter asked.

            Raph wasn’t sure if that was an innocent question, or the result of something Master Splinter knew or had guessed.  Or maybe Raph’s guilty conscious was making him see bogeys where there weren’t any.

            “We got ta talking about fishing and stuff.  He might take me out on his boat sometime so I can try my hand at casting a reel.  The boat’s big enough so there’s a place where I can hide ta avoid being seen,” Raph said, telling Master Splinter this much because he’d eventually need permission to go out during daylight.

            “I see,” Master Splinter said in a mild tone.  “Fresh fish sounds especially appealing.”

            That comment made Raph feel a little better.  He wanted to ask his father for guidance with his dilemma and this seemed like an auspicious time, but Raph didn’t know how to go about bringing it up without giving away too much.  He decided upon a roundabout approach.

            “Casey and April broke up,” Raph said, before taking a sip of his coffee.

            Master Splinter nodded, the corners of his mouth turning down.  “Yes, so Donatello has informed me.  It is sad but perhaps it is also for the best.  I feel that Mr. Jones has not been honest with himself about his feelings and that makes it very difficult to be honest with others.”

            “Ya’ think that’s what makes a relationship work, Master Splinter?  Being honest?” Raph asked.

            His father looked at him from beneath bushy eyebrows.  “Every type of relationship benefits from honesty my son.  Without honesty there can be no trust.  One cannot build anything solid upon a foundation that is flawed.”

            “Yeah,” Raph said, staring into his empty cup.  He remembered that his father had talked to him about the idea of meeting someone special and now this piece of wisdom that sounded a lot like advice.  Master Splinter might not know exactly what was going on, but it was a safe bet that he’d sensed something.

            Before Raph could think of a way to pursue it further, he heard the shuffling approach of a half asleep genius.

            “Mikey’s still in bed,” Don announced while he yawned, making the words come out slightly garbled.

            “Coffee’s made,” Raph told him.

            As Don practically fell on the coffee pot, Master Splinter pushed back his chair and rose.  “I shall have to send Leonardo to once again roust your youngest brother from his bed.  Perhaps an additional one hundred back flips will be a sufficient reminder for Michelangelo to remember to set his alarm clock.”

            Chuckling to himself Master Splinter left the kitchen.  A second later Don plunked down in the vacated chair, holding a bowl sized cup full of coffee.

            Raph waited until his brother had swallowed enough of the black brew to start his engine and then asked, “Did the FBI haul those assholes off ta jail?”

            “Yep,” Don said with a contented sigh.  “It was a beautiful thing to behold.  Too bad you missed it.”

            “I’ll live,” Raph said.  “Ya’ want ta show me beauty, show me a judge banging his gavel and giving them life in prison.”

            “Well, they may not get life, but they’ll certainly get a harsh sentence,” Don said, setting his cup down.  “It took you a while to get home last night; did you have some problem with the Bridge family?”

            Raph shook his head and got up to rinse his cup.  “Nah, I just gave Angel’s brother a ride home and he started telling me how she’s been doing in school.  I’m gonna head in and warm up before Leo drags Mikey into the dojo.”

            He could feel Don’s eyes on him as he left the kitchen, but Raph wasn’t in the mood to play twenty questions with his brother.  That was the problem with this family; no one really had an outside life so they all took too great of an interest in anything out of the ordinary.  Unfortunately, that usually meant anything Raph was doing.

            During practice Raph had a chance to think over what Master Splinter had said to him.  Honesty was all well and good, but just how far was he supposed to take it?  There was no way he was going to walk up to Bishop and say, _“I’m thinking about screwing Jones and this other guy I met too, just so ya’ know we ain’t exclusive.”_

            Raph snorted out loud, amused at the mental picture of Bishop immediately trying to shove him into a cage.  Leo glanced at him disapprovingly but Raph didn’t bother to even glare at him.

            It came to Raph suddenly that being honest with Bishop didn’t mean spilling his guts about his entire private life.  Honesty meant talking straight about what was between the two of them.

            That’s what he was going to do tonight, Raph decided.  He would meet Bishop and before they did anything, Raph would set some ground rules.  If Bishop could understand where Raph was coming from, then they would go forward.  If Bishop had a problem with anything, then Raph would tell him sayounara.

            Raph had told Bishop to pick him up in a helicopter because he wanted to prevent his brothers from following him.  Since he’d left it open ended as to where they were going, all Raph needed to do was think of a spot where landing that copter wouldn’t draw attention and where Raph could escape easily if he needed to.

            By the time Master Splinter called an end to practice, Raph knew exactly what he was going to do.

            The raid on the bar and the subsequent discovery of tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of counterfeit money was all over the news.  Leo watched the broadcast after dinner and decided that they wouldn’t do a patrol in order to give things time to die down.

            That suited Raph just fine.  He could have come up with some excuse to cause their patrol to end before midnight, but this way all Raph needed was a reason to leave the lair on his own.

            This also proved to be easy.  Raph took a moment to step into his father’s room to let him know he was going for a ride on his motorcycle and to assure Master Splinter that he would stay away from crowded areas.  Master Splinter gave him a knowing look but asked no questions, nor did he attempt to dissuade Raph from leaving.

            Saying nothing to his brothers, Raph stepped into the elevator and took it up to the garage.  Once again he wondered if Master Splinter had guessed that Raph’s desire to leave the lair was more than a simple need to avoid the stifling confinement.

            Raph had no idea how much time he had before one of his brothers decided to come see what he was up to.  Moving quickly, he grabbed his jacket from a peg on the wall and tossed his shell cell on the ground nearby.  Now he could claim that he’d dropped it when he was donning the jacket and no one could prove otherwise.

            Rather than his red helmet with the built in electronics, Raph took an unmodified black one from the shelf.  He didn’t know if Don had installed a tracking system in his red one, but tonight was not a good time to find out.

            Mounting his bike, Raph hit the button that lifted the automatic door and sped out of the garage.  He felt fairly secure in believing that his motorcycle couldn’t be tracked because he’d been over every inch of her, but his plan took care of that contingency just in case.  All he had to do now was stay ahead of his brothers if they decided to follow him and to time things perfectly so they couldn’t do anything if they caught up.

            Raph took a circuitous route to the Hanover building, using roads that went through residential neighborhoods.  He didn’t see any sign that he was being tailed as he watched his back trail and hoped that his meandering ride would throw off suspicion should anyone be watching him.

            It came to Raph that he might be a little paranoid, but considering how Mikey had stared at him during dinner, Raph wasn’t taking chances.  There was blood in Mikey’s eyes and that look made it plain that Mikey was still seeking revenge for Raph’s rough handling of him.

            A few minutes before midnight, Raph turned towards the Hanover building, timing it so that he entered the parking ramp at exactly two minutes to twelve.  Counting off the seconds, Raph adjusted his speed so that he was on the roof at the stroke of midnight.

            Just as Raph pulled his bike into a parking spot against the wall a large black helicopter appeared over the building.  Placing his helmet and jacket on the seat, Raph raced across the asphalt, watching as the helicopter lightly touched down.

            Ducking to avoid the rotors, Raph dove inside the copter through its open side door.  As soon as he hit the floor, the helicopter took off.

            “That was dramatic,” Bishop said in a lightly teasing tone.

            Raph rose to his feet and climbed into the empty seat next to Bishop.  A quick look back showed him they were the only two in the copter.

            “Wasn’t trying ta impress ya’,” Raph responded, studying Bishop’s profile.

            Bishop glanced at him and then back out through the windshield.  “It did nonetheless,” he said.  “Dodging your own family must provide its share of challenges.”

            Of course he’d figured it out; Bishop was a smart and resourceful man.  “Not the first time I’ve done it,” Raph said.  “Sometimes a guy needs some space.”

            “I can give that to you,” Bishop said.  “I can take you anywhere you desire to go, give you anything you need.  You have but to ask.”

            “Almost sounds like you’re trying ta bribe me,” Raph said.  “Or pay me off for sex.  I ain’t a whore.”

            “Your distrust of me colors your view of my offer,” Bishop said.  “I only offer what any man would to someone he cared about.  It just so happens I have more to offer than most men.”

            “And it just so happens I don’t need much,” Raph countered.

            “Then let us forego the larger picture and focus on tonight,” Bishop said.  “What is it you need now?  Your call was welcome but uninformative.”

            “Shell if I know,” Raph mumbled.  The man next to him sounded more like the cold-hearted bastard who terrorized his family and less like the vulnerable man who’d met him in an abandoned building, spouting haikus and epiphanies.

            Bishop seemed to sense Raph’s unease.  “Then let me show you the city in a way you’ve probably never seen.  Up here, high above the streets, the lights shine like jewels and everything looks clean; untouched.  There is a certain elegance, a sense of purity that withstands the ugliness that infiltrates the dark spaces.  That is the way I see you Raphael.  It is what drew me to you and what makes you different from anyone I’ve ever met.”

            Raph looked through his window.  He could see what Bishop meant; the city below him sparkled and shone, attracting the childlike part of him that longed to touch anything that glittered.  From where they were it looked untouched and as they flew out over the water, Raph could see how the lights and the moon competed to add a mysterious beauty to those murky depths.

            For his part, Bishop seemed content to play tour pilot, flying over the city and occasionally calling Raph’s attention to something in particular.  Mostly he was quiet, never pushing an agenda and allowing Raph to relax.

            From time to time Raph’s eyes flashed over to peer at Bishop.  The sleek cut of his black hair, meticulously combed, was a complete contrast to Casey’s scraggly locks.  His suit was perfectly pressed, his tie straight, the white shirt beneath it bright and unwrinkled.  All of it the polar opposite of Casey’s unkempt appearance.

            Raph found himself wondering what it would be like to break through the man’s iron control, to find the side of Bishop that would willingly plead and beg for something.  The idea, once locked in Raph’s head, began to play out in small mental images that soon manifested themselves in a physical reaction that had Raph shifting in his seat.

            “Ta hell with this,” Raph muttered.  “Do ya’ know the old abandoned brickworks out in the boroughs?”

            “Yes, it is an isolated and secure location,” Bishop answered.

            “Me and my bro’s explored it once a few years ago,” Raph said, “and then again a couple years after that.  First time we went there someone was squatting on the place and it was full of rats, but the city health department went in at some point and wiped out the vermin.  Ya’ can land the helicopter there without anybody noticing it.”

            Bishop asked no questions as he expertly turned the helicopter, flying it directly to the place that Raph had in mind.  Some years back Casey, his brothers, and he had played a game there, meeting a crazed mad man in the process.  The second time they went was because they were driven by curiosity and had discovered nothing but the empty shells of the buildings that remained standing.

            It was the first place that popped into Raph’s head when he was trying to think of neutral ground for an assignation with Bishop.  Having explored it a couple of times, Raph knew several routes through the maze of ruins where he could lose Bishop’s people if they tried anything.  The location itself would make it difficult for anyone to sneak up on them and even if a certain family of ninjas somehow came here to find Raph, he’d know they were there before they knew which building he was in.

            There were no lights at the brickworks so Bishop used the powerful one mounted to the undercarriage of the helicopter in order to land.  Once they were down he killed the engine and after the rotors stopped spinning, complete silence descended on them.

            Bishop removed his headset before taking off his seatbelt, but remained seated in the cockpit, looking over at Raph for instructions.

            “I’m assuming ya’ got one of those portable emergency lights in this contraption?” Raph asked.

            “Secured inside the box in the back,” Bishop said.  “Along with a thick blanket.”

            Raph laughed shortly.  “I’ll grab the light, ya’ get the blanket.”

            After assuring himself that Bishop had extinguished all illumination in and around the helicopter, Raph turned the portable light on and led the way into the ruins.  Behind him, Bishop was cat quiet, an eerie opposite of Casey who’d tripped all over himself the first time they’d explored this place together.

            When Raph located the building he was looking for, he eschewed the rickety stairs in favor of simply bounding in through a broken window on the second floor.  Turning, he watched as Bishop bounced lightly off a stack of bricks to propel himself in through the same window.

            “I am quite capable of keeping up with you, if that’s what you were testing, Raphael,” Bishop said with a touch of humor.

            “Ya’ know, ya’ could call me Raph.  Everybody else does,” Raph said, walking deeper into the building.

            “I prefer ‘Raphael’,” Bishop said.  “The name itself is pleasing to the tongue.”

            “Then ya’ won’t mind if I keep calling ya’ Bishop,” Raph said as he signaled for Bishop to stop.  “Somehow ‘John’ don’t seem ta fit ya’, don’t sound sinister enough.”

            “Do you need me to be sinister?” Bishop asked.

            Raph set the light down several feet away before walking back towards the man.  As Bishop started to unfold the blanket, Raph said, “Don’t put it down just yet.  I ain’t decided if we’re gonna need it.  In answer ta your question no, I don’t need ya’ ta be sinister, but I don’t need ya’ ta be every tenth man on the street either.”

            “How far does your need for excitement extend then?” Bishop asked.

            Rather than answer, Raph said, “Take off your glasses.  When we’re together I want ta see your eyes and we both know ya’ don’t need them things.”

            Bishop removed his dark glasses slowly, his entire focus on Raph as he did so.  Folding them, he tucked them into an inner pocket in his jacket.

            “If we’re going to do away with pretenses, then may I ask that you remove your mask as well?  There is no need for you to be a ninja when we’re together,” Bishop said.

            As Raph reached up to untie his mask, he felt a subtle shift in the atmosphere.  It was as though by removing their disguises they had somehow electrically charged the air around them.

            “Put the blanket down,” Raph said, his voice deepening.

            Bishop stared into his eyes for the count of two heartbeats, and then deftly opened and spread the blanket on the floor.  As he turned towards the turtle, Raph suddenly dropped to one knee and swept Bishop’s legs out from under him.

            A grunt escaped the man as he landed flat on his back atop the blanket.  Before he could move, Raph surged up next to him, grabbing Bishop’s tie and lifting his upper body from the floor.

            Bishop pulled his elbows under him as a brace and stared up at Raph.  “Why . . . ?”

            “That’s ta remind ya’ that I’m always a ninja,” Raph told him, his face close to Bishop’s.  “It’s just as much a part of who I am as the shell on my back.”

            “I wasn’t suggesting that you change,” Bishop said, his voice low.  He made no attempt to escape from Raph’s hold.

            “This thing we’re doing, this dance,” Raph said, “I don’t know how far I wanna go with it.  Maybe after a round or two I don’t like the song anymore and I wanna walk.  Is that gonna ‘cause me problems?”

            Bishop’s dark eyes seemed to glitter in the semi-darkness.  “You want to know if we can have sex without repercussions?  I’m not trying to possess you, Raphael.  If we can’t be together on equal terms; if this isn’t equitable for both of us, then either of us should be able to walk away without fear.”

            “No matter the reason?” Raph asked, trying to read Bishop’s expression.

            The corners of the man’s mouth lifted.  “I am not the jealous type, if that is your fear.  I can either hold you because you admire my virtues, or let you move on if I can’t give you what you need.”

            “Could be I don’t know what I need,” Raph told him.

            “Then start with what you want,” Bishop urged him breathlessly.

            For just a second Raph hovered above him and then he quickly lowered his head, pressing his lips against Bishop’s.  There was a small groan of satisfaction from the man as Raph’s tongue sought and found his.

            Heart beating rapidly, Raph tried to fight against his own spiraling lust.  It was almost as if every lingering sexual thought, every erotic desire had suddenly flooded his body with the need to take what Bishop was so willingly offering him.

            Raph’s nimble fingers worked the tie loose from Bishop’s neck, sliding it from beneath his shirt collar and tossing it carelessly aside.  As his tongue drove relentlessly inside Bishop’s mouth, Raph ran a hand under the man’s jacket, sliding it off one shoulder and then the other.

            Grasping the back of Bishop’s neck, Raph jerked him upright, their mouths still tightly locked together.  With his free hand, Raph yanked the jacket down further, feeling Bishop pull his hands free of the sleeves.  The jacket flew from Raph’s fingers and sailed through the air and then Raph lowered Bishop onto his back.

            Lifting his head, Raph licked his lips and then let his eyes slide over Bishop’s prone form.  The agent’s chest rose and fell rapidly, his eyes hooded as he contemplated the turtle that loomed over him.  Raph could see the swell of Bishop’s burgeoning erection pushing against the material of his pants and his own cock twitched beneath his shell in response.

            As Raph worked Bishop’s belt loose, the man slid a hand into his pocket.  Before his fingers were half-way in, Raph caught his wrist with a growl.

            “Lubricant,” Bishop explained gutturally.

            “Two fingers,” Raph said, watching the man’s hand like a hawk.

            Three of Bishop’s fingers immediately curled into his palm as he felt around inside his pocket with two of them.  A second later he withdrew a tube of lubricant and set it on the blanket next to him.

            “I like to be prepared,” Bishop explained, his breath catching as Raph lowered the zipper on his pants.

            “You’re a regular boy scout,” Raph responded, his tail stiffening as he spotted the curve of Bishop’s penis beneath the pants.  “And ya’ like ta go commando.”

            “The fewer the obstacles . . . .” Bishop said, not bothering to complete the sentence as Raph began to tug his pants off of him.

            As the material slid down, Bishop lifted his hips off the ground, making it easier for Raph to pull the pants off of his rump.  Bishop’s erection sprang upwards, his entire pubic area hairless.

            Hooking a toe against the back of one shoe, Bishop slipped it off and then quickly repeated the move with the second so that Raph could remove his pants entirely.  Before he crawled back up, Raph removed his sais, setting them within reach and then took off his belt. 

            He didn’t bother with the rest of his gear, instead reaching across to spread Bishop’s legs apart before kneeling between them.

            Looking down at Bishop who was lying there so passive and open made the heat in Raph’s gut turn into an inferno.  His cock began to harden to uncomfortable proportions and he allowed it to drop down.

            The pupils in Bishop’s eyes dilated upon their first glance at the turtle’s impressive length.

            “I don’t do foreplay,” Raph said, the blood thrumming in his temples.

            “Nor do I,” Bishop told him.

            Raph leaned forward and jerked Bishop’s shirt open roughly, the buttons flying in all directions.  Bishop’s chest was broad and solid, his stomach a washboard of hard muscle.

            “You prefer to play rough,” Bishop husked, trembling slightly as Raph stroked his bare chest.

            “I don’t know,” Raph admitted, petting the skin on Bishop’s body but carefully avoiding his dick, which bobbed with every breath the man took.  “I ain’t ever been at bat before.  I’m going off of instinct.”

            “Your instincts are good,” Bishop admitted, groaning as Raph’s fingers teased him in ways he hadn’t felt in over a hundred and fifty years.  Bishop’s hand closed over the tube of lubricant and he offered it to Raph.  “You’ll need this.”

            Raph paused in his exploration, giving in to the urge for a little deviltry as he grinned at the man under him.  “What for?  Turtles are self-lubricating.”

            “But human men are not,” Bishop responded without missing a beat.  “Your penis may be wet and ready to go, but I still need to be prepared and stretched.  From the looks of things, I will need to be stretched well.”

            Raph chuckled and then gripped Bishop’s cock firmly, drawing a rasping groan from the man.  “First time anyone ever called my dick a ‘thing’.  Ya’ wanna be stretched Bishop, then ya’ gotta do it yourself.  Show me how it’s done since I’m the one learning here.”

            There was a gleam in Bishop’s eyes as he calmly flipped the cap on the lubricant and coated a couple of fingers with its contents.  Bending his legs so that he could place his feet on the floor, Bishop tilted his lower half to one side and slipped his hand under his ass.

            Raph watched avidly as Bishop spread the lubricant around the opening between his legs.  Heat like nothing he’d ever felt warmed his face and spread through Raph’s body, making his cock jump in anticipation.  He quickly began stroking Bishop’s shaft; concentrating on movements he knew would feel good to the man in order to calm his own spiraling arousal.

            As soon as Raph saw Bishop’s finger slide into his entrance he began to churr.  Bishop inserted his entire finger in one smooth movement, his eyes lifting to Raph’s as he pumped the digit inside himself.

            “I am willing to forgo full preparation if you haven’t the patience to wait,” Bishop told him.

            “That ain’t really the best kind of give and take for a relationship though, is it Bishop?” Raph asked, squeezing Bishop’s cock lightly.

            “It is . . . it would be a necessary sac . . . sacrifice to your first time,” Bishop stuttered as he placed a second finger next to the first and pushed them both into himself.

            Hearing the great Agent Bishop stutter was too much for Raph.  With a grunt, he released Bishop’s cock and grabbed his own swollen flesh.

            “Move your hand,” Raph ordered in a voice rasping with need.

            Bishop extracted his fingers and settled his buttocks against the blanket, lifting his feet off the ground.  Though inexperienced, Raph immediately saw what he needed to do and hooked an arm beneath one of Bishop’s thighs.

            Holding his achingly hard cock, Raph pressed the tip against Bishop’s opening and pushed against the tight ring of muscle surrounding it.  Once the head of his dick was securely seated, Raph caught the underside of Bishop’s other leg and leaned forward until his hands were on the ground on either side of Bishop’s shoulders.

            With Bishop’s calves pressed against his biceps, Raph thrust his entire length into the man.

            “Yes,” Bishop moaned, his voice deep and low.

            The slick tight heat that grasped Raph’s cock was unlike any wet dream he’d ever had.  His body began to move on its own, instinct controlling his actions.  Each time Raph pulled back and then drove in again, the walls of Bishop’s anal cavity caressed his shaft and titillated the sensitive head of his cock.

            Raph barely registered when Bishop reached between them to grab his neglected cock.  When Bishop’s arm started to move as he pumped himself, Raph could feel the thrumming of Bishop’s hand and dick against his lower plastron.

            Head down, Raph started to move faster, the tightening cord of impending release knotting in his abdomen and pressing against the bottom of his spine.  Raph’s tail jumped up and down in response to that feeling, his own asshole twitching with delicious spasms.

            “Faster,” Bishop urged and Raph wasn’t sure if he was begging the turtle or talking to himself.  It didn’t matter, Raph could feel the edge coming up on him quickly and he reached for it, moving his legs and hips at a frantic pace to drive his cock inside his partner.

            “Raphael, Raph~ael.”  Bishop released a keening moan as he came, his seed splattering hotly against Raph’s chest.

            “Oh shit, shit, shi . . . .” Raph grunted as his orgasm ripped through his body.

            Burying his cock inside Bishop, Raph kept pushing with his toes, trying to drive himself deeper into the man.  All he could feel was the blinding pleasure of his climax, his cock twisting and pulsating as his cum spewed forth.

            With a final shudder, Raph started to come back to himself.  His heart was a wild jackhammer in his chest as he gasped for enough air to fill his lungs.  Beneath him Bishop’s chest rose and fell just as swiftly, the man’s eyes closed and his body glistening with perspiration.

            His turtle nature kept his cock from softening too quickly and Raph remained locked inside Bishop’s ass, enjoying the mini orgasmic after-shocks of his release.  He could feel his cum leaking out around his cock and somehow that gave him an intense feeling of accomplishment.

            Raph stared into Bishop’s face until the man opened his eyes.  His lips were slightly parted as he continued to pant for breath, and Raph darted down to capture the man’s mouth in a hungry kiss.

            Bishop’s arms came up around him, pulling Raph closer to his body.  In that moment all that Raph could comprehend was that he’d left his mark inside the man and that he was far from finished with his first lesson.

TBC……………………..


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Word Count: 4,056 multi-chapter 2k3 verse  
> Summary: Raphael has a secret admirer - or two.  
> Rating p12: R  
> Pairing: Casey/Raph/Casey, Bishop/Raph/Bishop, Ryan/Raph/Ryan

            Raph had made his time with Bishop last as long as he could, enjoying two more couplings before deciding he’d pushed his luck far enough.

            Bishop had patiently coached him during each round, teaching Raph different sexual positions.  In both of the romps Raph was the penetrating partner and that suited him perfectly.  Bishop seemed to get as much satisfaction from their encounter as Raph did, which made the experience more memorable.

            Not that Raph was going to forget the sight of a flushed and disheveled Agent John Bishop making his way back to the helicopter when they were finished.  There had been an obvious hitch in his usually confident stride and the torn shirt hung open beneath his dusty jacket.  Even his picture perfect hair was mussed, though once inside the cockpit he’d smoothed it into place.

            He couldn’t smooth out the sated look on his face however and all of those things combined to make Raph feel rather cocky.  Raph had even managed to place a prominent love bite on Bishop’s neck that would be hard to hide beneath the collar of a crisp white shirt.  As he sat next to Bishop in the helicopter, Raph could see the bite and he smiled roguishly at the thought of having marked the man.

            It wasn’t the only way he’d marked Bishop, but thinking about that would have just given Raph another hard-on and he’d really needed to concentrate on getting home.

            Concerned that his brothers might have located his motorcycle, Raph had asked Bishop to drop him off atop a building a couple of blocks away from where he’d hopped into the helicopter.  Though Bishop couldn’t set the ‘copter down at the new location Raph didn’t need for him to.  Before swinging down to the building below, Raph had grasped the back of Bishop’s neck and pulled the man into a rough kiss.

            Their parting words had been brief and for that Raph was grateful.  Bishop had not pressed him for any type of promise or asked when they would meet again.  Instead he’d pushed another burner cell phone into Raph’s hand just before the turtle leaped from the helicopter.

            Raph’s route to his motorcycle was circuitous because he had to examine every place where his brothers might hide if they were lying in wait for him.  There was no sign of them and he breathed a sigh of relief as he stood next to his ride, peering over the parapet at the city below him.

            Now he faced another dilemma and needed a minute to think it through.  Bishop’s scent was all over him and there was no way he could go home without removing it first.  Being turtles, the four of them had a keen sense of smell and it would be the first thing they noticed.  Raph knew he’d never make it to the bathroom without coming face to face with at least one of them, especially since they all seemed to be on a special mission to butt into his business.

            He toyed with the idea of diving into a pond in Central Park but that wasn’t very appealing considering how cold it was likely to be.  Plus, he’d have to go out of his way and he’d already been out late enough.

            If he couldn’t clean Bishop’s scent off of him before he went home, then Raph’s only other option was to disguise it.  Now he just had to think of something that smelled strong enough to do the trick and wouldn’t raise a whole other set of questions.

            A glance at his motorcycle gave Raph the perfect answer.  All he had to do was make one short stop on the way home.

            Raphael pulled into the garage a little while later and parked his bike as the door closed automatically behind him.  When he removed his helmet the smell of gasoline hit him hard; it was on his jacket, his gear, and his person.  It almost smelled as if he’d bathed in the stuff.

            As he swung his leg over the bike seat to dismount, Raph sensed a presence behind him and spun around to find Leo standing there.  As usual Splinter Junior had gotten the drop on him but it didn’t matter, Raph was ready for him.

            “Before ya’ open your big yap, I told Master Splinter I was going out for a ride,” Raph said as he unzipped his jacket.

            “Yes, he told me,” Leo said, “but your phone said that you were still here when I tried to reach you on it.  I found it lying on the floor.”

            He held the phone up for his brother to see and Raph snatched it out of his hand.  “First, I resent ya’ tracking my damn phone, especially since I got permission ta go out.  Second, I didn’t know I left it behind since I must’ve dropped it.  Here I am, safe and sound, so get out of my face.”

            Leo’s beak wrinkled in distaste as the hand Raph waved in his direction carried the scent of gasoline with it.  “You stink of gasoline.  What happened?”

            “Your powers of observation are fucking fantastic.  The hose at the gas station pump I was using sprang a leak,” Raph said belligerently, behaving as he would have if that’s what had really happened.  He tossed his jacket across a work bench.  “If ya’ got any other questions shove ‘em where the sun don’t shine.  I need ta wash this shit off before I pass out.”

            Raph pushed past Leo and hopped into the elevator, giving his brother no chance to ask further questions.  The new phone Raph had gotten from Bishop was a worrying weight in his belt and he wanted to hide it as soon as possible.  Before he’d left the gas station, he’d completely crushed the old one and tossed the pieces into a dumpster.

            Don was nowhere to be seen when Raph stepped into the lair and headed towards the stairs, but Mikey was on the couch reading a comic book.  He looked up when Raph came in and continued to stare at his brother as Raph made his way upstairs.

            The trouble with Mikey, Raph thought bitterly as he closed and locked the bathroom door, was that he didn’t let go of stuff.  All of them were a little obsessive about certain things and for Mikey it was when he got a notion in his head and decided he’d make it happen.  Like when he wanted to join the Justice Force and became the Turtle Titan.  Or like now, when he was sure Raph was hiding something.

            Raph set his Sais on the back of the toilet and emptied his belt, sliding the burner phone out of sight behind the water heater before stepping into the shower.  He removed his gear as he stood beneath the spray of warm water, washing each item and tossing it over the shower rod to dry.

            Once that was done, Raph concentrated on cleaning himself, which included pulling his penis from its protective pouch and removing the residual evidence of his coupling.  He thought of Bishop and how willing the man had been; how he’d agreed to everything Raph wanted without hesitancy or argument.  During their evening together Bishop hadn’t asked for anything in return and that had made Raph damn grateful.

            Now that he had time to replay all of it in his head, Raph wasn’t so sure everything had been completely satisfying.  There hadn’t been any real give and take; the man had even been willing to let Raph fuck him without proper preparation.  Being that submissive wasn’t who Raph understood Bishop to be.

            Bishop had a talent for getting what he wanted and he wanted Raph.  Maybe Bishop thought the easiest way to his goal was to pretend to be docile; to give Raph everything he desired to the point where Bishop was willing to forego deriving any real pleasure from the relationship.

            Raph shut off the water and toweled himself dry.  His thoughts about Bishop’s possible motives did not please him or make him very comfortable, nor did they make him happy.  It was conceivable that Raph had seen the man as an enemy for far too long and nothing Bishop could do would ever make Raph trust him fully.

            Wrapping the burner phone inside the towel, Raph carried it and his Sais into his bedroom.  Glad to see that no one was waiting in there for him, he locked his door and propped a chair beneath the handle.

            What had been a physically satisfying night was quickly becoming an emotionally unsatisfying one.  Raph wouldn’t go so far as to wish he hadn’t dallied with Bishop because he wanted that opportunity badly, but he had to admit to himself that sex wasn’t everything.

            It was a lot though, and Raph knew he needed that to be good if he was going to be with someone, but he didn’t want to feel as though he was walking a tightrope the entire time either.  Suppose he could never find a way to totally trust Bishop?  Whenever they were together, Raph would always feel the need to be on his guard.  The mystery and excitement from those types of trysts would fire his adrenaline for only just so long and then Raph would find it tiresome.

            Just thinking about it made Raph realize that he was exhausted.  He debated crawling into his hammock but opted instead for the easier option of falling into his bed, taking care to tuck the burner phone inside his pillow case.

           Lying there with his eyes closed, Raph slowly drifted towards sleep.  In his mind he had a vision of the look on Bishop’s face while Raph was screwing him and wondered how different it actually felt to be on the receiving end.  He didn’t know if he could let his guard down enough with Bishop to ever try that.

            He could with Casey though.  Even during the brief interlude with his best friend, Raph didn’t feel any qualms at all when Casey had pushed him onto his shell.  Raph had actually liked letting Casey take the lead because it had felt nice to have someone seem to worship every inch of his body.

            His ‘date’ with Casey had been interrupted before Raph could learn anything.  If Raph was going to ever find out what he really wanted in a relationship, he needed to pick up where he’d left off with Casey.  That was his last thought as Raph fell asleep.

            _Raph was fishing._ _Under his feet the boat swayed gently beneath a bright blue sky. As far as the eye could see there was nothing but open water; not another boat and no land in sight._

_Next to him someone laughed and Raph turned his head to look at Ryan Bridge.  The man was pulling his rod tip up, reeling rapidly as he dropped the tip back down.  From the looks of things he’d snagged a big fish and Raph grinned widely as he watched his new friend fight to bring it in._

_Then something tugged at his own line and he gave it a gentle pull, feeling the weight on his rod.  Whatever he’d caught was large and Raph felt a surge of elation as he began his own fight to reel in his catch._

_Suddenly Raph was no longer in the boat but in the water; deep underwater swimming with a school of fish and watching the ocean fauna sway beneath him._

_Something darted up to swim alongside him and Raph saw that it was Casey, only he had a fish tail instead of feet.  His friend grinned and pointed ahead of them and when Raph looked in that direction, he saw Bishop._

_The agent was dressed impeccably as always, somehow managing to look suave even as a merman.  Nothing seemed amiss and Raph found he was enjoying himself as the trio swam together._

_After a while Raph noticed that the two men were outpacing him and though he tried to catch up, Raph couldn’t swim fast enough.  He wanted to signal to them; they seemed not to notice that he was having difficulty, but then Raph realized he couldn’t breathe._

_Of course he couldn’t, he was a turtle not a fish.  Frantic, Raph looked in every direction but couldn’t locate the way up to where he’d find precious oxygen._

_Ahead of him both Casey and Bishop swam blithely along, oblivious of Raph’s predicament.  Panicked now, Raph began to thrash the water, his lungs threatening to burst._

            Raph’s eyes shot open and he sat bolt upright on his bed.  His blanket was twisted tightly around his midriff and he pawed at it frantically until he managed to pull it loose and then toss it aside.

            For several long minutes Raph sat there panting, sucking in oxygen and working to quiet his rapidly beating heart.  Ever since one of the Foot Mystics had trapped him in a water bubble, Raph periodically had bad dreams about drowning, but this had to be one of the worst.

            Very slowly Raph lay back down and tried to relax enough to go back to sleep.  The dream was already fading, but Raph had a feeling it might have meant something, so he willed himself to remember the most prominent parts.  He didn’t have the knowledge to try and make sense of it, but he lived with someone who did.  Tomorrow Raph would try to pick his brain without giving too much away.

            There were times when the brothers were at odds and their discord had an adverse effect on practice sessions.  The next morning was one of those times.

            Leo was both aloof and peevish with Raph, riding the line between behaving as though Raph’s brush off the night before hadn’t rankled but also communicating his displeasure at that treatment.   It was like he was trying to tell Raph ‘ _I don’t care if you want to be a jerk but it pisses me off_ ’.  Big brother’s pride was hurt.

            It might have amused Raph except that Leo had decided he needed to prove something and had repeatedly kicked Raph’s butt during practice.  Raph tried to tell himself that was because his muscles were still reacting sluggishly after last night’s activities with Bishop but he knew deep down that when Leo tapped into his anger while they were sparring there was going to be hell to pay.

            Mikey didn’t even try to hide the fact that he enjoyed seeing Raph get creamed.  His near constant stream of gibes and taunts were the only reminder Raph needed that little bro’ was still carrying a grudge.

            Master Splinter said little but Raph could tell that their father knew Leo was mad about something.  His frown was a good indication that Master Splinter didn’t approve of Leo allowing his emotions to control his actions, but as far as Raph was concerned, that was between sensei and his perfect son.

            It was Donatello who was most concerning to Raph.  Throughout the entire morning practice, Don’s eyes remained fixed on Raph as much as possible, his expression studious.  It was the same look Don got on his face when he’d discovered an interesting puzzle he felt needed solving.  Mikey might be troublesome when he was trying to ferret out Raph’s secrets, but Don was scary because he’d not only want to know the secrets, he’d want to uncover _why_ Raph felt the need to have those secrets.

            The end of their group practice session was a distinct relief to Raph.  He was starting to understand what it felt like to be sitting on a slide under Don’s microscope.

            After his extra hour with Master Splinter, Raph dragged himself into the kitchen, noting that it was once more a mess, but not enough of an obvious mess that it would attract Master Splinter’s ire.  Mikey knew how to be subtle when it was required.

            Raph’s hopes that he’d have the kitchen to himself to eat breakfast and then clean up the place were dashed when Don came in.

            The coffee pot was empty so Don went about making a fresh batch as Raph ate his cereal in silence.  Once the coffee started to brew, Raph could feel Don’s eyes on him again and the red banded turtle finally had enough.

            “I had ta put up with ya’ staring at me during practice,” Raph said without looking up from his bowl, “but keep doing it and you’re gonna be wearing my bowl for a mask.”

            “You seem . . . different this morning,” Don replied, unperturbed by the threat.

            “I had some weird ass dreams last night and I’m tired of my brothers smothering me,” Raph snapped, looking up.  “So yeah, I guess I do seem different.”

            Rather than be put off by Raph’s attitude, Don poured himself a fresh cup of coffee and sat down across from Raph, his eyes fixed on his angry brother.

            “What did you dream about?” Don asked avidly.

            Raph glared at him without saying anything, warning signals going off in his head.  Don might be merely curious, he might be attempting to help, or he might be looking for more clues to add to the pictures he’d taken in room 712 the night of Raph’s first meeting with Bishop.

            “I ain’t talking about my dreams, Donny,” Raph said, returning to his cereal.

            “Why not?  Dreams can help us understand ourselves better; they can help us solve problems.  Was it a nightmare?  Was it erotic?” Don asked, his eyes never once leaving Raph’s face.

            “What is it with this family all of a sudden?” Raph demanded, standing abruptly.  He stomped over to the sink and deposited his bowl.  “Ya’ three need ta get a life and stay the hell out of mine.”

            He stormed out of the kitchen, resisting the urge to yank Don’s chair out from under him.  His genius brother continued to placidly sip his coffee, staring at Raph’s retreating shell.

            There were plenty of chores for him to do and Raph made sure to stay busy with them, ignoring all of his brothers.  When it was time for his meditation session with Master Splinter, Raph entered his father’s room gladly.

            “No Leo today?” Raph asked with ill-concealed relief as he sat before his father, crossing his legs and trying to get comfortable.

            “Your brother is meditating in his room,” Master Splinter replied.  “There is a lack of harmony in his current mental state and it would have interfered with your attempts to find inner balance.”

            Reading between the lines, Raph understood that Master Splinter had taken Leo to task for allowing his temper to flair.  Having been on the receiving end of those lectures many times, Raph had a pretty good idea about what had been said.  Raph also knew that a dressing down of any kind by Master Splinter hit Leo harder that it did any of the rest of them.

            Raph had hoped he’d be able to talk to Master Splinter alone at some point and this was a golden opportunity.  There was no chance that Mikey would listen outside the door because he knew that Raph was in there to meditate.

            “Master Splinter, can I ask ya’ something?” Raph began.

            His father’s eyes opened.  “Of course my son.”

            “It’s about dreams,” Raph said and then cleared his throat.  “I mean, about what dreams mean.”

            “Was there a particular dream that has raised this question?” Master Splinter asked shrewdly.

            “Yeah, sort of.  Last night I dreamed that I was fishing and that I caught something, but then the next minute I was swimming in the water with a couple of uh, big fish.  They swam off ahead of me but I couldn’t keep up ‘cause I couldn’t breathe,” Raph explained.

            “Perhaps you could not keep up because you did not _want_ to keep up,” Master Splinter said.

            Raph frowned as he thought about that.  “I thought it was because I couldn’t breathe.”

            “Dreams should not be taken in such a literal context, Raphael,” Master Splinter said.  “Every person’s dream is unique to them, to the things they know, or wish to know.  Dreams are not the same as visions, which can show us the past and future; dreams must be interpreted.  Remember that everything in a dream is _you_ ; the fishing pole was you, the water was you, even the fish were you.  Since this is the case, only you can decipher the true meaning of your dream.”

            With a sigh, Raph said, “Yeah, I guess so.  Thanks Master Splinter.”

            “Let us begin our session then.  Perhaps you will find the answers you seek in your meditation,” Master Splinter said.

            “Maybe.  Oh, wait.  Would it be okay if I went over to Casey’s place tonight?” Raph asked.  “There’s a game on that I’d like ta see and I don’t want ta fight with Mikey over the TV.  Besides, I didn’t get ta spend much time with Casey the other night and I’d like ta be there in case he wants ta, ya’ know, talk about stuff.”

            “His break up with Miss O’Neil perhaps?” Master Splinter guessed.

            Raph nodded.  “I kind of worry about him sometimes.”  That much was certainly true.

            “You have both benefitted from your friendship,” Master Splinter said.  “His anger is not as vicious as it once was and you have gained an admirable amount of insight.  You may visit Mr. Jones tonight.”

            Raph used his meditation time to review what Master Splinter had explained to him about dreams.  He remembered a conversation he’d had with his brothers once where Don proclaimed that all dream definition books were bogus because a snake in one person’s dream couldn’t possibly mean that same thing as a snake in another person’s dream.  Raph had thought he was talking about men, women, and penises and had gotten a little raunchy and his brother refused to discuss it further.

            Now he thought he knew what Don had been talking about.  Raph figured that maybe his suddenly being underwater in his dream was his mind’s way of trying to tell him that he was in over his head with this whole thing of trying to juggle Casey and Bishop.  He didn’t think that their swimming off without him meant they didn’t actually care for him but that maybe what they wanted from a relationship with him wasn’t the same as what he wanted.

            There hadn’t been any murkiness about the first part of the dream though, and no confusion either.  Raph could still remember how happy and carefree he’d felt standing on that boat fishing next to Ryan Bridge.  Maybe that was because Raph didn’t feel any pressure about his friendship with the man.

            When his hour was up Raph left Master Splinter and took the elevator up to the garage.  Before he started to wipe down his motorcycle, he used his shell cell to call Casey.

            _“Hey Raph, I was wondering when I’d hear from ya’,”_ Casey said.

            “I had ta get Master Splinter’s okay before I could go out again,” Raph said.  “Leo’s all paranoid about the publicity from that raid.  Ya’ gonna watch the game tonight?”

            _“Yeah,”_ Casey answered. _“If ya’ was ta come over and watch it with me then your family wouldn’t have ta worry about ya’ being topside.”_

            The way that Casey said that sent a tingle down Raph’s spine and he said, “I was hoping you’d offer.  How about this time I grab some pizza for our dinner?”

            _“Sounds good. I still got plenty of beer,”_ Casey said.

            “Do me a favor and put a do not disturb sign on the door,” Raph told him.  “I think we’re gonna need it.”

            Raph could almost hear Casey spluttering as he disconnected the call without giving the man time to respond.  Casey could tell him what he thought about it later.

            Grinning to himself, Raph grabbed some clean towels off of a shelf and filled a bucket at the sink with hot soapy water.  He’d just set everything down next to his bike when he heard the elevator open and turned to see who’d come in.

            The grin quickly faded as Raph watched Mikey walk toward him.

TBC……………..


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Word Count: 5,416 multi-chapter 2k3 verse  
> Summary: Raphael has a secret admirer - or two.  
> Rating p13: NC-17 uke!Raph  
> Pairing: Casey/Raph/Casey, Bishop/Raph/Bishop, Ryan/Raph/Ryan

            Raph tensed as Mikey approached.  Feeling the need for that kind of caution around his kid brother wasn’t a good thing, but lately their relationship had deteriorated to an unhealthy level.

            “What are ya’ doing up here?” Raph snapped, just barely biting back a growl.

            “Peace dude,” Mikey responded, his palms up in a conciliatory gesture.  “Look, I know I’ve kinda been riding you lately, but I don’t like to see us this way.  I was hoping we could straighten things out between us.”

            In no mood to let his guard down, Raph asked, “What kinds of things? Like maybe ya’ stop making huge messes for me ta clean up?”

            “You smacked me on the head and knocked me out,” Mikey answered, his bottom lip sticking out ever so slightly.  “I could have died.”

            “Really,” Raph said, crossing his arms over his plastron.  “You’ve hit yourself with your nunchucks harder than that in practice.  There are tick marks on the wall in Don’s room that keep track of the number of times we’ve dragged your ass out of the dojo so you could sleep it off.”

            “You tied me up with duct tape,” Mikey said.  “Do you have any idea how much it hurt when Leo and Don were pulling it off of me?”

            Raph pointed an accusatory finger at him.  “What I remember is the time ya’ painted my sai handles with instant glue and I ripped some skin off trying to get loose.  I also remember the time ya’ put a bucket of sand over my door and instead of spilling on me the full bucket hit my head.  I didn’t wake up for hours and when I did I had a huge lump on my skull.  I also remember the time ya’ traded my sais for rubber duplicates and I almost got my ass waxed in a fight with the Foot.”

            “The bucket was an accident dude,” Mikey protested, “and I didn’t know we were going out on patrol that night or I would have switched them back.”

            “That’s the problem Mikey, ya’ don’t think about the stuff ya’ do, ya’ just do it ‘cause ya’ think it’ll be fun,” Raph said.

            “Aw, come on.  You guys wouldn’t loosen up and relax if I wasn’t around,” Mikey claimed with what Raph guessed was supposed to be a disarming grin.

            Raph’s eyes narrowed.  “Why don’t ya’ just admit you’re bored?  Ya’ don’t want ta grow up; ya’ spend all of your time playing games, or watching TV, or skateboarding, or pranking us.  You’re allergic ta the word responsible.”

            A flash of some emotion crossed Mikey’s face before he said, “Is that what you do when you go out all the time; be responsible?  ‘Cause from the arguments you get into with Leo it doesn’t sound like you were being responsible.”

            Though Mikey’s tone was lighthearted enough, there was just the smallest bite to his words.  It didn’t escape Raph’s notice that his brother remained at a safe distance; Mikey’s position in relation to Raph’s a sure indication that the youngest wasn’t taking any chances on getting hit again.

            Raph had no illusions about Mikey either; his brother truly could be trying to bury the hatchet and make peace, but more likely he just wanted to bury it in Raph’s shell.

            “If ya’ came up here ta do an imitation of Fearless then ya’ can march your ass right back down,” Raph growled.  “I don’t want ta hear it.”

            “Sor~ry,” Mikey drawled, smiling as though he was totally misunderstood.  “You’re too uptight bro’, you need to chill.”

            “Maybe I do,” Raph admitted, “but it ain’t gonna happen if I have ta look over my shoulder for your pranks, or listen ta Mr. Perfect’s lectures, or have Don following me around with an anal probe.  We ain’t got much but I’m trying ta find a way ta make the best of it.”

            “That’s why you don’t stick around here at night, right?” Mikey asked.  “You’ve got outside interests.”

            Even more wary now, Raph said, “Yeah, something like that.”

            Mikey’s head tipped slightly to one side as though he was toying with an idea.  “Is it one of those outside interests that’s been leaving you notes?”

            Raph glared at him, letting his frustration with his brother hide the fact that his heart had done a quick flip flop.  It was when Mikey was at his most ingratiating that he was also the most dangerous.

            “What the shell are ya’ talking about?  You’ve had notes on the brain since ya’ found that trash nearly a week ago,” Raph asserted.

            Mikey’s stare was avid.  “You’re the one that note was meant for, aren’t you?  How many have you gotten?  Do you have a girlfriend?”

            Raph allowed a frustrated sigh to escape as he replied in what he hoped was a bored tone of voice, “No I don’t have a girlfriend.  I don’t have any notes.  All I have is an annoying little brother.  Leave me alone so I can wash my bike.”

            Purposely turning his back on Mikey, Raph dipped a towel into the soapy water and started to scrub the gas tank.

            “What’d you do to your bike?” Mikey asked, walking around so that he was once more in Raph’s line of sight.

            For a second Raph debated ignoring his brother but decided that antagonizing the little snot further was a bad plan.  “The hose at the gas station sprang a leak and got me and the bike.  I don’t want it ta sit on here any longer ‘cause it’ll mess up the paint job.”

            Mikey didn’t respond to that immediately and Raph continued to clean his bike.  Just when Raph thought Mikey might be getting bored with him, his little brother said musingly, “Gasoline has a really strong odor.  It would cover up pretty much any other scent, don’t you think?”

            Raph dropped the towel in the bucket and dirty water splashed his legs.  Aggravated, he looked up to see Mikey studying him.

            “Enough with the beating around the bush,” Raph said, straightening to his full height.  “Ya’ came up here for a reason, so out with it.”

            Mikey pointed at him.  “You’re hiding something big.  Big enough to lie to Master Splinter about and big enough to make an extra effort to keep us from following you when you go out.”

            Huffing with annoyance, Raph snapped, “Why the fuck do ya’ care so damn much?  I wouldn’t do anything ta hurt this family even if I was hiding something, so it ain’t your concern.  I swear, sometimes I feel like I’m suffocating with the way ya’ guys hang off of me.  If anyone could understand wanting ta have something just for themselves it’d have ta be ya’.  Dammit Mikey, ya’ went off on your own as the stupid Turtle Titan and got yourself invited ta join the Justice League.”

            “I didn’t keep it a secret though,” Mikey said quickly.

            “Ya’ didn’t announce it ta the world ahead of time either,” Raph countered.  “Back off, Mikey.  That’s all I’m gonna say on the subject.  Ya’ wanna call a truce, fine.  But ya’ gotta stop hounding me about shit.  There ain’t nothing going on with me except the need for some alone time.”

            Mikey met Raph’s harsh gaze unwaveringly, the corners of his mouth turned up in amusement.  Finally he shrugged and said, “Okay.  I guess I like being around people so much it’s hard for me to imagine anyone wanting to be by themselves.  You want some help cleaning the bike or should I leave?”

            The abrupt about face wasn’t unusual for Mikey; he was the brother most likely to let things roll off his shell.  He was also the one who could be the most deceptive and Raph wasn’t lowering his guard no matter what.

            He didn’t want Mikey to know that though so after inhaling deeply to calm his irritation, Raph said, “Yeah, sure.  Ya’ could get a clean bucket of water and rinse the soap off.”

            “Will do,” Mikey replied with a quick salute.

            When Mikey returned with the rinse water, Raph tossed him a fresh towel and together they worked on cleaning Raph’s bike.  Mikey told several jokes that soon had Raph laughing and then the older turtle shared a couple of humorous anecdotes from his adventures chasing Purple Dragons with Casey.  It almost felt like things had returned to normal between them, especially when Mikey flicked water on Raph, starting a water war that ended with them both being soaked.

            Mikey headed down to the lair to get cleaned up while Raph dried his bike and applied wax to the chrome.  He thought about his conversation with Mikey and the time they’d just spent together, feeling glad for sharing a somewhat normal interlude with his kid brother.

            Raph was in no way lowering his defenses though.  He knew Mikey really well and was under no illusions that the peace offering from his younger brother also constituted a white flag of surrender.  Mikey was sure that Raph had a secret and he wasn’t dissuaded from that notion by anything Raph had told him.

            When he finished with the bike, Raph put everything away and went down to take a shower.  Standing beneath a warm spray of water, Raph slowly released the anxiety that had built tension in his muscles.  Michelangelo was his brother; a sneak, a mischief maker, a self-proclaimed prankster, and a grudge holder, but still his brother.

            Mikey had an ingrained desire to know what was going on in his little world, especially with his family.  It was a character trait that they’d all come to accept.  Raph decided that rather than letting it piss him off, he’d treat Mikey’s curiosity as a challenge.  Maybe if he stopped blowing up over Mikey’s shenanigans his brother would finally believe that Raph wasn’t hiding anything.

            Before he stepped out of the shower, Raph took a few minutes to thoroughly clean himself in his most private areas.  He had never even thought about putting something into his anus but with the door locked and his sai jammed into the frame, he felt comfortable enough to experiment.

            The first thing he did was to touch a finger to his puckered entrance and then stroke the outer skin.  Raph was surprised to find that it felt rather nice; a kind of tickling sensation that made his opening quiver.  Biting his bottom lip, Raph pushed the tip of his finger inside and finding that to be fairly easy, he tried to go further.

            Raph didn’t get very far before he experienced a mild burn and then the interior muscles began to resist the intrusion.  He pulled his finger away with a snort, realizing the sacrifice Bishop had been willing to make when he’d offered to let Raph screw him before the man was fully prepped.

            Sliding his finger across a bar of soap, Raph once more pushed the digit into himself.  The soap helped ease the way a little, but Raph knew that proper lube was going to be necessary before anything other than a soapy finger went into him.

            On his way to his room after the shower, Raph noticed that his asshole stung slightly. _“No wonder Bishop was walking funny,”_ Raph thought with dry amusement.

            With a couple of hours to go before he left for Casey’s apartment, Raph dropped his gear on the floor and jumped into his hammock.  Staring up at the fake water pipe reminded him of how he’d gotten to the point of standing between two men who both expressed a desire to be with him.

            Raph’s stomach should have been fluttering with an advanced case of nervous anticipation, but he was strangely calm.  Having reached the decision to go all the way with Casey seemed to lift away a lot of his anxiety.  If it was good; if they both liked it, then tonight could be a stepping off point for something better.

            If the coming interlude with Casey gave him the sense of fulfillment he was looking for, Raph would happily stomp Bishop’s phone into ten million pieces and forget about the man.  In the grand scheme of things, being with Bishop had a potential for difficulties that an affair with Casey did not.

            Before he dozed off Raph dwelled for a few minutes on the Michelangelo problem.  They both knew that Mikey wasn’t going to fundamentally change no matter what assurances he gave his older brother.  Raph decided that the best offense was a good defense and protecting his secrets called for something more than just hiding his notes.

            When Raph woke from his nap he proceeded to follow through with his idea for dealing with Mikey’s snooping.  The first thing he did was fold all of Bishop’s notes into a tight bundle, wrapping a rubber band around them and placing them into his belt.  Then he yanked several threads loose from an old towel and placed them in strategic locations throughout his room.

            Before he went downstairs, Raph carefully closed his door on the last piece of thread.  It was invisible to anyone who didn’t know it was there, but Raph only had to look at the top of his door to see the end of it peeking out.  No thread atop his door would mean that someone had gone in without asking.  That was concrete proof that Raph could present to Master Splinter.

            On his way out of the lair he heard the sounds of dishes clattering in the kitchen, followed by Leo’s voice and then Mikey’s laughter.  He was relieved to know he wouldn’t have to talk to them before he left; getting into an argument about going out again was the last thing he wanted to do at the moment.

            Exiting through the door that led into the sewer tunnels, Raph figured that Don was in the kitchen with his brothers or holed up in his lab.  He’d only taken a few steps when he found out he was wrong.

            “Is it okay if I walk along with you for a ways?” Don asked, appearing suddenly from behind Raph.

            Raph jumped and then inwardly cursed himself.  “Where are you going?” he asked suspiciously.

            “Over to April’s for dinner,” Don answered blithely, walking alongside his brother as Raph continued on.  “I’m helping her set up a new inventory system for her shop.  It will be a big time saver; she’ll be able to access reports that tell her what sells and if she’s making a profit on each item based on the original purchase price and how long it sits around before someone buys it.  She’ll also know if her mark ups are adequate or if she’s being underbid by competitors.”

            Raph rolled his eyes.  “No wonder they broke up.  I’ll never understand how Casey and April got together in the first place; she likes the same brainy stuff you do and no offense but that’s boring as hell.”

            Don grinned at him.  “No offense taken.  I always wondered how she put up with someone with such caveman tendencies.  Other than us they had no basis for a decent conversation.”

            It was Raph’s turn to smile.  “Maybe talking wasn’t what they got together for, Donatello.”

            “ _That_ ,” Don emphasized with a stern look, “only goes so far in a relationship.  There has to be some commonality other than sex to keep people together.”

            “Yeah, I guess ya’ might be right since they ain’t together anymore,” Raph said thoughtfully.  “Shell, you’re more compatible with April than Casey ever was.  You’ve got everything April could ever want in a guy, except ya’ know, the sex thing.  Maybe ya’ should go online or something and find her a perfect guy.”

            He glanced over at Don and saw that his brother was blushing.  “I don’t want to know that much about April and other men, thank you very much.  Perfect friends are hard to come by.  Take you and Casey for instance.  That’s where you’re headed I’m guessing.”

            “You’d guess right,” Raph told him.  “I want a night off where I ain’t looking over my shoulder for Mikey or some bad guy.  I’m gonna eat some pizza, watch some sports, burp and fart without anyone yelling ‘Raphael, manners!’  I don’t need a whole lot more than that.”

            “Be who you are and do what you like with someone you can totally relax around,” Don said softly.  “I can relate to that.  Well, here’s where we split up.”

            They paused at an intersecting tunnel and Don turned towards the section that would lead him to April’s apartment.

            “Have fun playing with that computer thingy,” Raph called after him.

            Don waved.  “Enjoy the game.  I hope you get what you need at Casey’s.”

            He quickly disappeared from view, leaving Raph to stare into darkness.  For some reason Raph had the feeling that there was a double meaning behind almost everything Don had said to him.

            Raph exited the sewer tunnels a few blocks before reaching Casey’s apartment and headed into the alley behind Antonio’s pizzeria.  Rapping out a beat on the door, he set some bills on the ground and then backed into the shadows.  Thirty seconds later the door opened and one of the cooks retrieved the money and left two boxes of hot pizza in their place.  He didn’t bother looking around before going back inside; they’d been doing this almost weekly for the last three years.

            After he grabbed the pizza, Raph climbed to the roof of the building.  One of the reasons he and his brothers preferred Antonio’s was because they cooked their pizza in a brick oven.  The wood fired oven burned hot and standing next to the flue, Raph dropped Bishop’s notes two at a time into it, watching them catch fire as they fell and then ride the wind as ash once they’d been fully consumed.

            A few minutes later, pizza in hand, Raph glanced through the open window into Casey’s apartment.  His friend was sprawled comfortably on the couch, lifting a free weight with one hand as he watched a pair of talking heads on the pregame show.

            “Hey pal, pizza’s here,” Raph called out as he hopped over the sill.

            Casey set the weight down and swung his feet onto the floor, getting up to take the pizza from Raph.  Although the fresh night air cooled the apartment, the open window was an invitation for someone, say a nosy turtle brother, to come in.  Raph quickly closed and locked it, then pulled the curtains across the glass.

            “Expecting someone?” Casey asked, raising an eyebrow quizzically.

            “Not now,” Raph answered, noticing that Casey’s apartment was more picked up than usual, that the checkered cloth still covered the packing crate, and that his friend was wearing sweat pants rather than jeans.

            Placing the food on the crate, Casey headed into the kitchen as Raph took a seat on the couch. Casey returned with paper plates and beer; tossing the plates on top of the boxes and handing a bottle to Raph before taking a seat near his friend.

            As Raph took a long drink from his beer, Casey asked, “No problem getting out?”

            Raph swallowed and then shook his head.  “Nah.  I’ve been spending more time with Master Splinter lately and as long as I tell him where I wanna go then Leo can’t ride me about it.”

            “Why are ya’ spending so much time with Master Splinter?”  Casey had a puzzled look on his face, as though sensing that something was amiss.

            Raph resisted the urge to sigh, knowing he shouldn’t put too much emphasis on what was going on with his family.  That would lead to more questions, some that Raph didn’t want to get into with Casey.

            “Mikey was pranking me again and I popped him one,” Raph said.  “Master Splinter said I had ta do Mikey’s chores and an extra hour of meditation.  It was worth it though.”  He grinned and took another swig of his beer.

            Casey chuckled and followed suit.  He knew that Mikey often entertained himself by aggravating Raph and that Raph sometimes lost his temper, getting himself into trouble with their father.

            Neither of them made a move towards the pizza.  Raph stared at the TV, barely registering what was on it or what was being said.  Glancing at Casey, Raph saw his friend’s eyes were likewise locked on the screen, but that he didn’t appear to be paying much attention to it either.

            When Casey tipped his head back to drink beer, Raph watched his Adam’s apple bob up and down.  The sight was overwhelmingly erotic for some reason and Raph felt his dick twitch in response.

            “Ya’ should probably record the game,” Raph suggested, his tone deepening with growing lust.

            Casey looked over at him and then slowly set his beer down, grabbing for the remote without taking his eyes off of Raph’s.  After so many years of having his sports interrupted, Casey’s fingers knew which buttons to press and quickly keyed in the proper command.

            Raph polished off his beer, enjoying the vague touch of lightheadedness from the alcohol.  As he reached over to place the empty bottle on the crate, Casey leaned into him and nipped at his jawline.

            The bottle teetered on the edge of the crate and then fell off.  Raph barely noticed that it didn’t break as he turned his head to accept Casey’s mouth on his.

            Raph tipped backwards until his carapace touched the back of the couch and Casey moved with him.  Sliding a hand around Casey’s shoulders, Raph pulled him in closer as their tongues slid together, drawing a needy groan from the man.

            Casey placed his palm flat against Raph’s plastron, pressing down as he felt for the thudding beat of the turtle’s heart.  Encouraged by quickening rhythm, Casey slid his hand down, delving below Raph’s belt and brushing over the bulge forming under the scutes.

            With a churr, Raph widened the gap between his legs.  Quickly deciphering what Raph wanted, Casey began to rub the spot between Raph’s thighs, feeling the softer cartilage begin to part as the bump underneath grew larger.

            When Casey tried urging Raph into a reclining position, the turtle broke their kiss.

            “Not here,” Raph panted, running his tongue across his bottom lip.  “Not enough room.”

            Casey understood.  They were both large guys and attempting to maneuver on the couch wasn’t going to work well.

            Standing, Casey said, “Let’s move ta the bedroom.  I got a surprise for ya’.”

            Now curious as well as turned on, Raph followed his friend.  Pausing outside the room at Casey’s signal, Raph waited until Casey waved him in.  As he stepped through the door he saw that Casey had placed fresh linens on the bed and that the room was dimly lit by scented candles.

            At least they didn’t smell like sandalwood.  The mental image of Master Splinter or Leo entering his head while he was screwing his best friend wouldn’t have been welcome.

            In response to the look on Raph’s face, Casey shut the door and said sheepishly, “Ape always liked scented candles in the room and I kinda got used to it.”

            Raph didn’t particularly want a reminder that Casey and April used to have sex on that bed, but Casey was so nonchalant about the reference the turtle quickly erased it from his mind.

            Instead of answering, Raph removed his belt, taking care to set it down so his sais wouldn’t jab a hole in Casey’s floor.  He wasn’t so circumspect about the rest of his gear, tossing each piece aside with cavalier disregard as he removed it.

            Face flushed, Casey swiftly stripped off his shirt, his muscles rippling as he did so.  Raph’s eyes traced downwards, appreciating his friends taut, flat stomach and the well-defined v shape of his pelvic muscle.  It was hard to miss how Casey’s cock was tenting the material on his sweat pants.

            For a second the two friends examined each other, knowing that the next step in this dance was going to forever change their relationship.  Raph had a feeling that Casey was waiting for him to decide whether he’d stay or go, so with a slightly trembling hand, Raph coaxed himself into the open.

            He heard Casey’s heavy exhale as the man tugged his sweat pants down and then kicked them aside.  His cock bounced with each movement, completely erect and standing straight out from his body.

            The sight crushed whatever inhibitions Raph might have still been harboring and he moved towards Casey who met him part way.  Wrapping their arms around each other, their lips met once more in a passion filled kiss.

            Casey grunted as his cock touched Raph’s and he worked his hips until he managed to press their boners together.

            “Oh shit, Casey,” Raph gasped against his friend’s mouth, fighting the urge to thrust.

            “Bed,” Casey said gutturally as he tugged on Raph’s arm.

            Casey lay down on his side when he reached the bed, urging Raph down next to him.  Instead of facing Casey though, Raph sprawled on his back, his hand on Casey’s shoulder to encourage the man into crawling on top of him.

            “Raph,” Casey rasped, hesitating as he looked at the turtle.

            “I ain’t done this before but I’m pretty sure ya’ gotta lube me up first,” Raph said, his statement not totally untrue.  “Ya’ got something ya’ can prep me with?”

            Casey swallowed audibly and nodded once.  While he was digging around in the drawer of his nightstand, Raph eased himself farther back on the bed and spread his legs wide enough to accommodate Casey’s body.

            When Casey looked up and saw Raph’s position, he fumbled the tube of K-Y jelly and almost dropped it.  Somehow Casey’s nervous clumsiness helped to ease Raph’s jitters and he tilted his pelvis invitingly.

            “Damn Raph,” Casey muttered, crawling between his friend’s legs.  “Looking at ya’ like that almost makes me wanna blow my load right now.”

            “Put a cork in it,” Raph responded, his own cock pulsating with need.  “I cleaned myself up good before I came over ‘cause I want this.  If ya’ do too then let’s get busy.”

            Casey suddenly grinned and popped open the lubricant.  Spreading a dollop generously onto his finger, he slathered some of the contents onto Raph’s anal opening and then pushed against it until his finger started to slide in.

            Raph kept his eyes on his friend’s face and used one of his meditation techniques to remain relaxed.  Casey stopped mid-knuckle and pulled his finger out in order to apply more lube, obviously knowing what to do either from his trysts with April or with other men.

            Since Raph didn’t want to dwell on that thought, he turned his concentration southward, for the first time feeling a burn as Casey delved deeper into his core.  As he unconsciously clenched at the sheets, Casey looked up and noticed that Raph’s erection was dwindling.

            “Hurts?” Casey asked, holding still.

            “Are ya’ all the way in?” Raph wanted to know.

            “Yeah,” Casey answered.

            Raph flicked his tongue over his lips and rocked his hips slightly.  The sting of intrusion had faded and the feeling of having something inside him was starting to become exciting.

            “Keep going,” Raph urged.

            Casey pulled his finger back just a bit and then pushed it forward again.  Repeating the maneuver a couple of times, Casey also reached up to grasp Raph’s cock.  A loud churr escaped Raph along with a sigh of satisfaction, his arousal growing once more to epic proportions.

            With his finger fully embedded inside Raph, Casey squirted some lube onto another finger.  Pulling his first finger out enough to make room for the second, Casey proceeded to stretch Raph’s opening.

            Raph was breathing in short, sharp gasps as both fingers breached him, pain warring with titillation.  He could tell when Casey had his fingers entirely inside of Raph because the man started to scissor them.

            Casey suddenly touched something that had Raph nearly jumping off the bed.  Hot sparks shot off behind his now closed eyelids and a shiver ran down Raph’s spine; stiffening his tail and making his cock expand.

            “Fuck!” Raph shouted, barely noticing that Casey had chuckled lowly.

            “I’m gonna do that with my dick,” Casey promised, his crude words sending another jolt of pleasure straight into Raph’s cock.

            “Then do it, for fuck’s sake, and stop talking about it,” Raph demanded, uncertain as to how much longer he was going to last.

            Casey’s fingers exited Raph’s ass almost immediately.  He let go of Raph’s cock in order to hold his as he lathered it with a layer of K-Y, and then crouching over the turtle he grasped the edge of Raph’s carapace in order to tilt his hips at a manageable angle.

            Raph was totally given over to his sexual need at this point, churring and quivering with anticipation as Casey’s cock touched his asshole. Rather than reacting negatively to the sting of penetration, Raph’s dick pulsed uncontrollably, aching for some friction to relieve his spiraling lust.

            Taking his time, Casey pushed all of the way into Raph, filling and stretching him completely. It was a mind blowing sensation and Raph concentrated on trying to remember everything he was feeling. Wanting Casey as deep inside of him as possible, Raph lifted his legs and crossed his ankles high up on the man’s shoulder blades.

            As soon as Raph’s legs tightened around him, Casey began to thrust. Head down and knuckles on the bed to either side of the turtle, Casey drove into his lover. His grunts and groans were almost as animalistic as Raph’s churring. Sweat began to roll from Casey’s shoulders, his hair matting with perspiration as his movements grew harder and faster with each passing second.

            When Casey’s dick rubbed against the sensitive spot in Raph’s core the turtle cried out, grinding the back of his head into the mattress. Casey appeared not to notice, his entire focus on working towards his climax.

            Grasping his own shaft in a tight grip, Raph started to pump it quickly, desperate for release. Casey continued to fuck him with a single minded intensity that might have been scary if Raph wasn’t so damn horny.

            Suddenly Casey rose up on his knees and gripped Raph’s thighs, his thumbs digging painfully into the turtle’s skin as he lifted Raph’s legs onto his shoulders. Eyes half closed, Casey pounded Raph’s ass with his cock, huffing and gasping as his hips bounced forward.

            Again and again Casey slammed into the nerves inside of Raph’s anal passage and the turtle quickly felt his orgasm approaching. His hand flew over his dick as he rocked his hips with each of Casey’s thrusts until Raph reached the edge of ecstasy and fell into a staggering climax.

            Cum splashed hotly across his plastron, coating it with a thick, sticky layer of white. Mindless, Raph shuddered and shook as he continued to stroke himself, emptying his cock of every drop of jizz.

            Casey continued to drill into Raph for a few seconds more and then his rhythm stuttered as he cried out, “Ahh, fuck! Raph!”

            His hips bucked forward with tiny, sharp jabs as he shot his load into Raph’s ass. Slowly coming back to himself, Raph felt the heat of Casey’s cum as it filled him, taking up the space previously occupied by his newest lover’s withering cock.

            Head back and eyes closed, Casey breathed heavily through his open mouth, swallowing hard before shifting backwards and letting Raph’s legs drop onto the mattress. Tilting to the side, Casey slumped down next to the turtle, his damp hair falling across Raph’s bicep.

            No words passed between them as both relished the afterglow. Very carefully, Raph tucked his overly sensitive cock back into its pouch. He was thoroughly worn out and quite sated, at least for the moment.

            Although he could tell that Casey had dozed off, Raph was pretty sure he could get his friend interested in the idea of going at least one more round. Raph wanted to bottom again from a different angle and since Casey had proved to be an enthusiastic partner, Raph was going to avail himself of everything the man offered.

            Later he would probably wonder about his growing insatiable needs, but for now Raph was just going to enjoy it.

TBC…………………


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Word Count: 4,296 multi-chapter 2k3 verse  
> Summary: Raphael has a secret admirer - or two.  
> Rating p14: NC-17 uke!Raph  
> Pairing: Casey/Raph/Casey, Bishop/Raph/Bishop, Ryan/Raph/Ryan

            They ate cold pizza at midnight, lying in bed to watch the recorded ball game on Casey’s small TV set, scattering crumbs and grease on what had once been clean sheets.

            The sheets were already tangled and splotched with sweat and semen before they dragged the boxes of pizza into bed with them, so they couldn’t actually blame it on the food.  Raph did try to be a little careful with his portion of the meal by eating each slice over the box top, but when Casey dragged it out of the way he scattered the crumbs everywhere.

            Raph frowned at him but the look went completely unnoticed as Casey proceeded to dump the boxes and empty beer bottles onto the bedroom floor.  It wasn’t that Raph was a total clean freak, he just didn’t like bugs, and insects were drawn to food particles.  He also found sleeping on tiny bits of food to be scratchy and unappealing.

            When Casey flopped back onto the bed Raph eyes were drawn to the man’s pubic area, which was covered in a fine, dark silk.  Unused to hair, Raph sat up and began a closer examination.  Running his fingers through Casey’s pubic hair, Raph’s questing fingers touched the man’s scrotum.

            He hadn’t felt comfortable enough during his interlude with Bishop to explore the man’s private areas, but now Raph’s curiosity took over.  Reaching under the ball sac, Raph let their weight rest against the pads of his fingers before lightly kneading them.  Casey’s low groan was encouraging and Raph rolled the loose hanging skin between his fingers, feeling something more solid within them move under his touch.

            As Raph played with Casey’s scrotum, the man’s dick began to harden; slowly filling as Casey’s breathing grew heavy.  Raph quickly figured out that his friend’s balls were as sensitive as the turtle’s tail was and that the right kind attention would get his sexual motor running.

            Casey suddenly grabbed at Raph, pulling him onto the bed and draping himself on top of the turtle.  As he plied Raph’s mouth with a rough kiss, the turtle felt pizza crumbs against the back of his legs and he shoved Casey off of him.

            “We ain’t doing this on a bed full of crumbs,” Raph grumbled, clambering off of the mattress and glaring expectantly at Casey.

            “Shit pal,” Casey said, reluctantly crawling off of the bed, his hard cock bouncing as he moved, “never knew ya’ was so picky.  Ya’ live in the sewers.”

            With a growl, Raph tossed the pillows at his friend and then flipped the top sheet back, scattering crumbs onto the floor.  “Just ‘cause the lair is down there don’t mean my home is a sewer.”

            As Casey stood aside cradling the pillows to his chest, Raph yanked the fitted sheet loose and shook it out.  After he’d tucked the corners back into place, he retrieved the top sheet, and shook it one more time before draping it across the bottom of the bed.

            While he worked, Raph noticed with each glance at Casey that his friend’s eyes were focused on his ass.  Casey’s hard-on hadn’t diminished at all and it didn’t require much imagination on Raph’s part to guess why.

            Just as Raph was settling the top sheet into place he saw the pillows fly onto the bed.  Before he could even straighten up, Casey shoved him hard, sending Raph face first onto the mattress.

            Casey quickly tackled Raph, preventing him from rolling over.  “What the shell . . . ?” Raph rasped, feeling his friend’s rough fingers on his tail.

            “Fuck Raph, ya’ just looked too good bent over like that,” Casey rumbled, using his knees to nudge Raph’s thighs outwards as his hands pushed against the back of his knees to encourage Raph to bend them.

            Getting the message, Raph lifted his hips off the bed, holding his lower body at an accommodating height.  Casey’s grunt was enough to let Raph know his friend appreciated the position and it wasn’t a second later that Casey began to penetrate him.

            Raph had expected a little prep work but apparently Casey was too far gone to think of that.  Fortunately Raph was still wet from their earlier encounter and although his rectal muscles had tightened up again, Casey was taking the time to slide in slowly.

            Casey draped himself over Raph’s carapace once his cock was fully seated in his lover’s ass.  Sliding his arms beneath Raph’s biceps, Casey grabbed onto the tops of the turtle’s shoulders.  Gripping him tightly, Casey rubbed his chest across the rough plates on Raph’s shell, stimulating his nipples and groaning with satisfaction.

            While his friend was positioning himself, Raph’s cock had blossomed into a full blown erection and he’d dropped down.  As Casey started to thrust, Raph’s cock rubbed against the sheets, the fabric whispering across the head of his dick.

            From the sounds that Casey was making and the urgency of each of his thrusts, Raph knew the man was climbing towards his orgasm.  Raph was desperate for Casey to reach down and take care of his needs as well, but Casey didn’t seem to notice as he pounded into the turtle.

            “Casey,” Raph huffed, his voice muffled by the sheets, “a little help here?”

            His only response was a growl from Casey as the man started to move faster.  Unable to stand it any longer, Raph took hold of his own cock and began to stroke it.  Concentrating on bringing himself off, Raph barely noticed when Casey lifted away from his shell and grasped his hips, pumping frantically into Raph’s ass.

            The angle was fortunate because Casey’s dick started to touch Raph’s prostate.  It only took a few hits before Raph was gasping through his climax, his ass squeezing down on Casey’s cock and bringing the man to completion almost at the same time.

            Casey rode out his orgasm with his cock still buried in Raph’s ass.  When he was done, he pulled out and tumbled over onto the bed.

            Raph lay panting against the mattress, his mouth open and the rumpled sheets pressed against his teeth and tongue.  When he finally opened his eyes, Raph saw that Casey had fallen asleep.

            Despite his orgasm, Raph felt unsatisfied with their coupling.  Rolling away from the wet spot on the bed, Raph lay on his carapace and stared at the ceiling, thinking.

            After Casey had professed his feelings for Raph, he had made efforts to present himself in a good light.  He’d cleaned his place up, cooked for Raph, and had even taken the time to make a show in the bedroom with cleans sheets and candles.

            Raph had _liked_ those things, even though he’d teased Casey a little about them.  It seemed as if the courting period was over though.  It wasn’t as if Casey had changed, in fact the opposite was true; Casey was behaving exactly as he always had with Raph.

            And while the head bashing, combative, hard living, rude and crude Casey Jones was everything Raph could ever want in a best friend, that wasn’t very satisfactory in a lover.

            In the sack, Casey was a lot more aggressive than Raph would have liked.  Casey became overly excited and either unable or unwilling to focus on his partner.  During sex Casey seemed distant, so determined to seek his own pleasure that he didn’t think to pleasure his partner.  Trying to remind him to do just that had fallen on deaf ears.

            Raph sighed, turning his head to look over at his sleeping friend.  He wondered if the way Casey was in the bedroom could have contributed to he and April’s split.  Raph didn’t know a lot about women’s needs, but he had a pretty good idea that foreplay was an important part of lovemaking to them.  If his time with Casey was any indication, the man probably wasn’t very good at that.  April wasn’t the type to have sex with someone if she wasn’t getting anything out of it.

            Looking back at the ceiling, Raph compared the two partners he’d had intercourse with.  While Casey was all take during sex, Bishop had been all give.  Raph had already thought about his time with the agent and had decided that it felt like something important was missing from their encounter.

            Releasing another breath of frustration, Raph wondered what was wrong with him.  He had two men who wanted to have sex with him; never in a million years did he expect to have even one.  Why couldn’t he just be happy with the status quo?  He could easily hide his affair with Bishop from Casey, and Bishop himself had said he wasn’t the jealous type.  Sharing Raph with Casey probably wouldn’t make him raise an eyebrow.

            It just didn’t seem fair.  Fair was a word Raph had used a lot in his lifetime.  While his brothers accepted their lot in life, Raph had always rebelled against the idea that he couldn’t have certain things.  That need was what drove him to respond to those damn notes of Bishop’s and then on to accept Casey’s advances.

            Flipping onto his side, Raph closed his eyes.  Of all the things that being a mutant denied him, the one thing he wanted the most was for someone to love him, to need him, and to desire him.  Raph wanted to experience those feelings too and he wasn’t getting that from either Bishop or Casey.

            The two men were such complete opposites it was almost laughable.  Bishop was polished, distinguished, unemotional, and driven.  Casey was unkempt, crude, and often motivated by hate.  In a flight of fancy, Raph compared them to the story about the three bears and the bowls of porridge.  One was too cold and the other too hot.

            As he was falling asleep, Raph wondered if Ryan was the third bowl.  The one that tasted just right.

            Raph’s internal alarm woke him at five a.m.  Casey was still passed out, so Raph got up and helped himself to the shower, making sure to thoroughly clean every inch of his body, washing Casey’s scent down the drain.

            After he put his gear on, Raph shook Casey to let him know he was leaving.  Casey grunted and slapped at him without opening his eyes, rolling over before beginning to snore.

            Raph stared at his friend for a couple of minutes before shaking his head and deciding to leave without once more trying to say good-bye.  Maybe he’d call Casey later to say something appropriate.  Maybe.  If he could think of something.

            Exiting out the window, Raph jogged through the pre-dawn darkness to a spot where he could climb down into the sewers and then ran the rest of the way home.

            Raph was tired when he drifted into the lair just before sunrise.  He was happy to note that the only other family member awake at this hour was his father, who strolled out of the kitchen with his early morning tea, stopping when he saw Raph’s approach.

            “Sorry I’m getting in so late sensei,” Raph said.  “I fell asleep on Casey’s couch.”

            Master Splinter nodded his acknowledgment, looking unconcerned.  “As long as you avoided being seen, my son.”

            “I set my internal alarm, just in case,” Raph explained.  “The game ran kinda long.”

            “Practice will commence at the normal time,” Master Splinter warned him.

            “I’ll be ready,” Raph promised, bounding up the staircase.  As he turned towards his room he saw Master Splinter take a seat in front of the television array.

            Raph’s ass was stinging as he reached for the doorknob.  All he could think about was swallowing a couple of aspirins in the hopes they’d relieve some of the pain before practice began.  Habit had him glancing to the top of the door and as he did so, he froze.

            The thread he had placed there was gone.

            Eyes narrowed and his lips pressed into a tight grim line, Raph stepped into his room.  A quick glance around showed him that nothing was out of place, but that was to be expected in a house filled with ninjas.

            Striding over to his desk, Raph immediately saw that the thread he’d left poking out of the middle drawer was gone.  Likewise for the small drawer in his nightstand and the thread he’d placed under the mattress on his bed.

            For a moment Raph felt the hard edge of fury start to rise in him.  He’d had a feeling that Mikey’s call for a truce was yet another of his diversionary tactics.  Mikey wasn’t after revenge and he didn’t give a shit about Raph knocking him out and binding him with duct tape; what Mikey wanted was validation for his suspicious and the chance to rub it in Raph’s face that he’d discovered his secrets.

            Just as he was about to lose control of his temper, Raph remembered why he’d put those threads all over his room in the first place.  Taking a deep calming breath, Raph smiled.  Mikey wanted to play his usual games but this time Raph was going to respond in a way that his little brother didn’t expect.

            Raph didn’t bother with the staircase when he came out of his room; instead leaping down from the upper floor into the main room of the lair.  His father was still on the couch watching the news when Raph marched up to him.

            Without preliminaries, Raph said, “Master Splinter, Mikey was in my room last night and he didn’t have my permission.”

            Master Splinter studied Raph’s face for a moment and then carefully placed his cup on the coffee table.  Taking the remote from his lap, Master Splinter turned off the television.

            “Please tell me how you know this,” Master Splinter said.

            Staying as calm as he could, Raph told his father about his conversation with Mikey and how they had supposedly made up.  He admitted that he wasn’t altogether satisfied that his youngest brother was going to stop hounding him or that Mikey would follow the directives about privacy that their father had laid out.

            He told Master Splinter how he’d placed threads around his room and at the top of the door before he left to go over to Casey’s.  Then Raph told Master Splinter that when he noticed the thread in the door was missing, he gone inside to find that most of the other threads were also displaced.

            When he finished, Raph waited expectantly, watching the expression on his father’s face.  Master Splinter stood up slowly, his bushy eyebrows nearly touching above his frown and his nose twitching in irritation.

            “You presume it was Michelangelo,” Master Splinter stated.

            “It’s a good guess based on past experience,” Raph said and then added, “Yeah sensei, I do.”

            “Very well, we are going to get to the bottom of this,” Master Splinter said, passing Raph as he walked to the center of the lair.  Tipping his head back so he could look up towards Mikey’s room, Master Splinter called in a loud voice, “Michelangelo, come downstairs this instant!”

            Though he hadn’t shouted, Master Splinter’s no-nonsense tone carried throughout the lair.  As he waited, the rat’s tail swished back and forth, giving away his agitation.  Raph knew his father was well and truly peeved.

            Leo appeared almost immediately, fully geared up and ready for the day.  Since it was normally his habit to rise early, he came downstairs, looking from Raph to his father.  Master Splinter shook his head at his eldest son and Leo bowed, saying nothing as he entered the kitchen.

            As Leo was descending, Don opened his bedroom door and peeked out.  He blinked down at his father, obviously still half asleep and then glanced over as Mikey’s door opened and the youngest stepped out.  Rubbing at his cheek, Don disappeared back into his bedroom, closing the door firmly behind him.

            Mikey walked downstairs with his gear dangling from his hands.  His blue eyes flashed across Raph’s face and then turned towards his father, quickly gauging both of their moods.  With a disarming smile, Mikey said, “’Morning sensei.  What’s up?”

            Not one to beat around the bush when it came to behavior problems, Master Splinter said, “Raphael has brought me proof that someone entered his room without his permission last night while he was away.  He believes that someone was you.  What have you to say for yourself?”

            “What kinda proof?” Mikey asked quickly.  “What makes you think it was me?”

            Master Splinter tapped the floor with his walking stick, silencing his youngest son.  “Do not answer my question with more questions.  Did you enter Raphael’s room last night?”

            Mikey hesitated for a moment and Raph could almost see the wheels spinning in his head.  He knew that he wasn’t going to get away with an outright lie because of the mystery proof that Master Splinter had alluded to.

            Raph knew that Mikey had decided on a course of action when he saw those blue eyes shimmer and the hint of the dimple that showed on one cheek when he was trying to soften his father up.

            “Raph’s been lying to us,” Mikey said.  “I knew it and I’ve got proof too.  He said he hasn’t been getting any notes, but I found one inside his pillowcase.”

            Mikey started to rummage around in the belt his was holding and Raph stared sightlessly at him.  Heart thumping in his chest, Raph realized that he’d tucked the torn piece of newspaper with Ryan’s phone number on it into his pillowcase.  He’d meant to it eat after he left Ryan’s apartment, but had completely forgotten about it on his way home because he’d been thinking about the man.

            Sure enough, a second later Mikey triumphantly held up the section of newspaper.

            “Raphael,” Master Splinter said as Mikey placed the torn sheet in his hand, giving Raph an opportunity to respond.

            Thinking fast, Raph remembered that he’d told his father of Ryan’s invitation to go fishing with him.  “That’s Ryan Bridge’s phone number,” Raph said, aiming a smirk at Mikey.  “He gave it ta me that night when we rescued Angel and told me ta call him when I knew I’d have time ta go out on his boat.  He invited me ta go fishing; I told ya’ about it.”

            Raph was gratified to see a touch of panic on his brother’s face.  Once more Mikey began to dig into his belt, this time a bit more frantically.

            “It’s more than just a phone number,” Mikey said.  “Raph’s been getting notes from Ryan all along.  He’s keeping secrets sensei, and he should have to explain himself before he gets the family into hot water.”

            That was Mikey’s patented excuse for his snooping and it didn’t surprise Raph that his brother trotted it out.  What Raph didn’t understand was what Mikey intended to offer as additional proofs in support of his assertion.

            It took him another couple of minutes to find what he was after and Raph couldn’t help but wonder what all Mikey kept tucked into his belt.  Their belts weren’t all that big to start with.

            “Got it,” Mikey said.  In his hand was the note from Bishop that Mikey had snagged off the roof top when he’d raced Raph to get there first.

            Master Splinter took the note from Mikey’s hand and read the two words that were on it.  Then he turned to Raph and asked, “Do you know anything about this?”

            Raph glanced at it and then shook his head.  “That’s some trash Mikey found when we were out on patrol.  For some reason he seems ta think it belongs ta me.  I wouldn’t be surprised if he yanked out another half dozen pieces of garbage with writing on them and said they were mine.  The handwriting ain’t even the same.”

            Master Splinter looked once more at both pieces of paper.  Though one only had two words on it and the other was a phone number with ‘Ryan’ written under it, they were obviously penned by different people.  Ryan was left handed and his lettering slanted in a completely contrasting direction.

            Passing the scrap of paper with Ryan’s number on it over to Raph, Master Splinter looked at Mikey, who had begun to squirm.

            “I take it that you did not compare the handwriting before you jumped to your conclusions?” Master Splinter asked Mikey in a deceptively calm voice.

            “No sensei,” Mikey admitted.  “I guess I got carried away.”

            “Were you likewise ‘carried away’ when you wilfully disobeyed my rules that no one was to enter a private sanctuary without gaining permission from the occupant?  Am I to understand that you believe these rules apply to everyone but you?” Master Splinter asked with more of a bite to his words.

            “I was just trying to figure out what Raph does on the nights he goes topside without us,” Mikey said petulantly.

            Raph could see the disapproving look on Master Splinter’s face and for once it wasn’t aimed at him.

            “What Raphael does is his business.  He has been following my rules by telling me where he is going each time he leaves.  Your infraction is highly egregious Michelangelo.  You have shown a patent disregard for your brother’s privacy and have blatantly broken their trust.  In this family the issue of trust is paramount to our survival.”

            Pausing in his lecture to look at Raph, Master Splinter said, “Those chores that belonged to Michelangelo which were assigned to you as punishment are waived.  He will be doing his own chores.  The remainder of your punishment stands.”  Turning back to Mikey, Master Splinter ordered, “Come with me Michelangelo.  We are going to discuss this inclination you have towards picking and choosing which household rules you are going to follow.”

            “Yes Master Splinter,” Mikey responded meekly, his head down.

            “Leonardo,” Master Splinter called out, bringing the eldest to the kitchen door almost immediately.  “Begin practice on schedule.  Michelangelo will be joining you later.”

            “Yes Master Splinter,” Leo said, watching Mikey trail along behind their father.

            Once the two had entered Master Splinter’s room, Raph strolled into the kitchen, a satisfied expression on his face as he met Leo’s eyes.

            “How much of that did ya’ hear?” Raph asked, pulling a bowl out of the cupboard.

            “All of it,” Leo said, pouring out a cup of tea.  “It wasn’t as though anyone was whispering.”

            Leo had a sour look on his face.  Raph filled his bowl with cereal and milk and sat down to eat his breakfast.  After a couple of bites he couldn’t take it anymore and asked, “So what’s chapping your ass this morning?  Ya’ siding with Mikey again?”

            “I am not,” Leo declared, pulling out a chair opposite Raph and sitting down.  “I am however unhappy with the amount of discord in this family since you started spending so much time away from home.”

            Raph was in too good a mood after seeing Mikey get into trouble to let Leo push his buttons.  “Don’t ya’ sound pompous with your ‘discord’,” Raph taunted.  “Seems like every one of your imaginary problems always start with me.  Don’t tell me Mikey ain’t ever snuck into your room and snooped through your things.”

            “I don’t have anything to hide,” Leo responded, a tad too quickly.

            Eyes narrowing dangerously, Raph lifted his head.  “Now that ain’t the point is it?  The point is what Master Splinter said, we’re entitled to some privacy and we ought ta be able ta trust each other enough not ta worry that someone’s going through our stuff.  Or do ya’ think like Mikey does that I’ve got some big ass secret?”

            Raph figured he’d put it out there boldly and force Leo to say what was on his mind.  For the second time that morning Raph was rewarded to see one of his brothers discomfited as Leo flinched.

            “I don’t know about secrets,” Leo said carefully.  “I do think you might be taking this whole ‘loner’ thing a bit too far.”

            “Says the turtle who spends countless hours practicing by himself or alone in his room meditating.”  Raph snorted derisively as he stood up with his empty bowl.  “There’s a lot of ways ta be a loner, Leo.  Ya’ sure ain’t one ta preach.”

            He was glad to see that for once his words had hit home.  Before he stepped out of the kitchen, Leo cleared his throat and said, “Practice is in fifteen minutes.”

            “I heard Master Splinter the first time,” Raph said, pausing in the doorway.  “I’m going up ta my room for a couple minutes.”

            “Could you tap on Donny’s door and make sure he’s awake?” Leo said.  “He got home late last night.”

            “Sure,” Raph said, leaving his brother to think about their conversation.

            Taking the stairs two at a time, Raph stopped in front of Don’s door and pounded on it with the side of his fist.

            “I’m up, I’m up,” Don muttered from behind the closed door.

            Raph heard something fall over and his brother’s softly muttered curses, spoken in another language because Don thought he wasn’t saying bad words if he didn’t say them in English.

            With a laugh, Raph entered his room, closing the door with a soft click.  He grabbed the bottle of aspirin out of his nightstand and dry swallowed a couple, realizing that he’d have to deal with the stinging in his ass during practice.  It was a small price to pay for his education.

            Before he went down to join his brothers at practice, Raph tossed the torn section of newspaper on his desk.  Later on at a more decent hour he was going to give Ryan a call.

TBC……………..


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Word Count: 7,451 multi-chapter 2k3 verse  
> Summary: Raphael has a secret admirer - or two.  
> Rating p15: NC-17 oral  
> Pairing: Casey/Raph/Casey, Bishop/Raph/Bishop, Ryan/Raph/Ryan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Preview image by the ever creative Dragona15 on deviantArt.  
> 

            Mikey and Master Splinter had arrived in the dojo halfway through practice and Mikey remained in there long after his three brothers were finished.

            Raph was told to do his extra hour of training before dinner and that his hour of meditation would take place at the usual time.  When Raph reported to Master Splinter’s room at mid-afternoon, he encountered Mikey coming out.

            Apparently part of Mikey’s punishment included the same extra meditation that Raph was required to do.  The vitriolic look Mikey shot in his direction didn’t faze Raph one bit because he knew Mikey wasn’t going to have much time to get into mischief.

            Nor was he going to have a lot of opportunities.  Leo was tight lipped about the disciplinary action that Master Splinter had taken with his youngest, but Don had found out and had spilled the beans to Raph.

            Along with an extra hour of meditation every day, which Mikey hated even more than Raph did, Mikey was required to do two additional hours of training.  On top of that, he was going to have to do not only his chores, but half of Don’s and half of Leo’s too.  The punishment would last for three months.

            Additionally, Master Splinter had decided that the lair could use a fresh coat of paint and had decreed that Mikey would whitewash every wall.  Don had already placed the order for paint and brushes through April and was going to pick them up the next day.

            What made Raph nearly chortle in delight was finding out that Master Splinter had pulled Leo into his room for a conversation and had directed the leader to keep his eyes on Mikey.  Master Splinter’s goal was to keep Mikey too busy to get into mischief and to make sure that the youngest knew he was being watched.

            Of course Leo took it like a man, bowing and scraping and sounding happy that Master Splinter had given him the task of babysitting Mikey.  The truth was that in order to do as his father ordered, Leo was going to have to give up some of his precious practice and meditation time.

            Raph was careful to keep his elation at the turn of events to himself.  Master Splinter’s ire was directed towards Mikey and Raph was more than happy to have it remain there.  He never realized that having his father’s disfavor pointing elsewhere could feel so freeing.

            During lunch, which was a somber affair due to Mikey’s pouting, Leo announced that they would be going out on a mission as soon as it was dark.  Don had managed to hack into the cell phones of a few of the more prominent Purple Dragons and from their recent chatter he’d learned they’d gotten their hands on some alien ordnance, probably Triceraton in origin.

            The Purple Dragons were planning to make a delivery of some of the weapons to a buyer that night and were going to meet said buyer at a warehouse on the docks.  It was a good bet that the warehouse contained the remainder of the alien munitions.

            All of that sounded damn good to Raph.  He hadn’t hit anyone since the night they’d rescued Angel and he was having withdrawals.

            Normally Raph might have suggested that Casey come along since the Purple Dragons were his particular area of interest, but the turtle wasn’t ready to face his friend again so soon.  Raph wanted some time to think about what he and Casey had done and to figure out how to put things back the way they were before, because Raph was starting to believe their ideas about relationships weren’t the same.

            In the meantime, Raph had a couple of private phone calls he needed to make, one of which was to Casey.  He wanted to gauge how Casey was feeling about the step they’d taken.  Maybe he was having regrets as well and things would just fix themselves.

            “. . . and then I also need to replace the batteries in the security cameras today,” Don said.

            Raph blinked and looked up from his plate.  He’d zoned out when Don started to enumerate the things on his to do list but this chore caught Raph’s attention.

            “I can help with that,” Raph volunteered, causing both Don and Leo to look at him strangely.  “What?” Raph demanded.  “Sitting around here waiting for nightfall is boring as shell.  If I help Brainiac work on his laundry list it’ll solve a problem for both of us.”

            “You should thank your brother for offering his assistance without having to be asked,” Master Splinter said brightly as he turned a pleased look in Raph’s direction.

            “Oh, I’ll take all the help I can get,” Don said quickly.

            “Raphael will have to suffice,” Master Splinter said.  “Leonardo and Michelangelo are going to do some exercises in the dojo for me, after Michelangelo clears the table and cleans the kitchen.”

            Mikey’s expression grew even more sour, something Raph hadn’t thought possible.  The youngest had expected to talk himself out of the bulk of his punishment just as he usually did, but his glib words were falling on deaf ears.  Master Splinter was sticking to his guns and Mikey was not a happy turtle.

            Though Raph managed not to toss a smug look in Mikey’s direction, he couldn’t help his light step as he left the lunch table.  For however long it lasted, Raph was going to enjoy being on his father’s good side.  The tiniest bit of guilt over some of his lies threatened to spoil the feeling, but Raph quelled it quickly.

            Raph joined Don in his lab with Leo bringing up a close third.  While Raph and Leo sorted through a couple of boxes containing batteries, Don printed out a set of tunnel schematics which showed the locations of his security equipment.

            As he handed the print out to Raph, Don said, “I really am glad for the help, but I’m surprised you didn’t want to grab a nap this afternoon.  You got in pretty late last night, didn’t you?”

            It didn’t appear that Don was attempting to be disingenuous, he merely looked concerned.  With a smirk, Raph said, “From what I understand, ya’ did too.”

            “That must be some project you and April are working on,” Leo said as he dumped the batteries they didn’t need back into a box.

            Don suddenly seemed uncomfortable, nearly stuttering as he said, “Yeah, we hit a snag in the computer model.  It might take some time to fix.”

            Raph held back a chuckle.  He always found it amusing when his big brained brother had a problem he couldn’t solve because of how much Don hated to admit he didn’t know something.

            “I’m sure you’ll figure it out,” Leo said, patting Don’s shoulder before heading towards the door.  “You two keep a sharp eye out while you’re in the tunnels.  I saw some city guys down here the other day doing repair work.”

            “I think we both know by now how ta avoid the city workers Leo,” Raph said with a hint of sarcasm.  “It ain’t like we don’t live down here.”

            Leo didn’t bother with a retort, leaving his brothers before either he or Raph got aggravated.  That was one thing that Leo was finally learning to do; pick his battles when it came to the hot head.  Raph hadn’t quite gotten to that point, but he did appreciate when Leo let things slide off his shell.

            “Well come on,” Don said, handing a bag full of batteries to Raph.  “Let’s get this over with so I can tackle one of the other thousand things on my to-do list.”

            Once inside the tunnels, the pair separated, going in opposite directions.  Raph kept his eyes and ears open for maintenance crews, though few ever ventured so deeply into the sewers.

            When he reached the first of the cameras, Raph quickly replaced the battery, storing the old one in a separate plastic bag.  Sure that he was completely alone, Raph pulled out his shell cell and made a call to Casey.

            The phone rang seven times before Casey picked it up.  _“’Lo? This better be important.”_   He sounded both cranky and sleepy.

            “It’s Raph pal,” Raph said, trying to sound cheerful.  “What the shell, ya’ ain’t up yet?”

            _“No I’m not up yet,”_ Casey said grumpily. _“I was sleeping in ‘cause I gotta go help pick up a shipment in Brooklyn tonight.”_

            “Sorry Case,” Raph apologized.  “I’m gonna be out too; Leo decided we’re gonna patrol tonight.  I just wanted ta check in with ya’ and see how you’re doing.”

            _“I’d have been better if you’d woke me up before ya’ left,”_ Casey said. _“I had a mother of a boner this morning.”_

            Raph made a face at the phone but bit back the snide comment he was tempted to make.  Instead he replied, “I tried ta wake your ass up but ya’ just took a swing at me.  Ya’ sure as hell ain’t a morning person.”

            _“So now ya’ know not ta expect breakfast in bed,”_ Casey said.  _“I gotta take a leak. Ya’ done?”_

            “Yeah, I’m done,” Raph said.  “Go back ta bed.”

            He hung up without waiting for Casey to say anything else.  A little angry, Raph jogged to where the next camera was located to take care of its battery and then headed towards the third camera location.  He was trying not to dwell on Casey’s complete lack of sensitivity but it was hard to forget.

            Raph hadn’t really expected the guy to wax poetic about their first night together, but even half asleep Casey could have been more civil and at least asked how he was doing.  Casey had popped Raph’s proverbial cherry last night and rather than express how special that had been for him, all Casey seemed worried about was not getting another shot at Raph’s ass in the morning.

            There was still one more phone call to make but Raph didn’t want to attempt a conversation with Ryan while he was pissed off at Casey.  He checked the print-out Don had supplied him with and then worked to calm himself down as he changed the batteries on three more cameras.

            By the time he’d done that Raph felt mellow enough to phone Ryan.  As he started to punch in the number, Raph found that his hands were shaking and realized that he was nervous.  Suppose the guy was just wound up on adrenaline the night he’d offered that invitation to Raph?  Maybe it was something he said at the spur of the moment but now regretted.  It wasn’t like Raph was the normal type of guy that Ryan could be seen in public with.

            He hesitated on the final number and then mumbled, “Fuck it.  If he backs out it ain’t no big deal.”

            This time he only had to wait three rings before Ryan answered, _“Hello?”_

            “Oh hey, Ryan.  It’s Raphael,” Raph said, hoping he didn’t sound as edgy as he felt.  “I ain’t interrupting anything, am I?”

            _“Raph!”_ Ryan exclaimed, sounding pleased.  _“No, I’m waiting on a contractor delivery. How are you?”_

            “Doing good,” Raph answered, smiling.  His heart was thumping madly in his chest but he was also relieved that Ryan had answered so enthusiastically.  “Ya’ doing okay?  Is Angel staying out of trouble?”

            _“I’m great and so is Angel,”_ Ryan said. _“Grams hasn’t had a single problem since you guys closed that man down.”_

            “Yeah, that’s what I like ta hear,” Raph said.  “Sorry I haven’t called sooner; me and my bros have been kinda busy.”

            Ryan laughed lightly.  _“No problem. I guess you guys have been out there cleaning up the city.”_

            “One thug at a time,” Raph quipped and then added somewhat shyly, “I’ve been thinking over what we talked about and I sure would like ta take ya’ up on the fishing offer.”

            _“You would? That’s terrific!”_ Ryan said.  _“My partner has the boat for the next couple of days ‘cause some people chartered it for a fishing trip, but I can have it for the weekend. Do you want to go then?”_

            “Sure, that works out great,” Raph said.

            _“So what are you doing tonight?”_ Ryan asked, sounding almost bashful.

            The smile on Raph’s face grew wider.  It seemed like Ryan really wanted to see him and wasn’t just fulfilling an obligation.

            “I’ve gotta go on patrol with my bros,” Raph said regretfully.  “Don picked up on something that might be going down tonight.”

            _“Oh. Yeah, duty first,”_ Ryan said, a touch of disappointment in his voice.  _“How about tomorrow? Do you think you can get the night off?”_

            “Don’t see why not,” Raph said happily.  “That’s plenty of advance notice so Leo doesn’t plan anything.”

            _“Awesome,”_ Ryan said with spirit.  _“I used to work for this guy who owns one of those Go Kart places, you know, where you drive miniature race cars around a track? Now I sometimes do maintenance work for him, in fact I started a job there this week.  I’ve got a key and the run of the place whenever I’m there.  It’s all indoors so you wouldn’t have to worry about being spotted.  You want to hang out, maybe take the cars for a spin?”_

            “Ya’ mean it?  Shell yeah I would!” Raph exclaimed.  “I’ve never been in a place like that.”

            _“Cool,”_ Ryan said. _“They’ve got a grill so I can fix us a little snack and they’ve got beer on tap, so you don’t need to bring anything.”_

            “I’ll meet ya’ there,” Raph said.  “Where is this place?”

            Ryan gave him the address and added, _“I’ll be there just before it closes to go over a couple of change orders on the job with the owner, but everybody will be gone by eleven-thirty. I’ll make sure the light is on over the delivery door and you can come in there.”_

            “Eleven-thirty it is,” Raph said.  “I’ll let ya’ get back ta work.”

            _“Okay. See you tomorrow,”_ Ryan said.

            As soon as he was off the phone, Raph did a little dance, the smile never leaving his face.  He couldn’t remember the last time he felt so excited about something, at least not this kind of excited.  It was an altogether new feeling, almost giddy, and the accompanying surge of energy had him running at top speed through the tunnels.

            Raph managed to tamp down his exhilaration by the time he met up with Don, but he felt too good to hide it entirely.  Don gave him an odd look as they walked back to the lair, almost seeming to study him, and Raph wasn’t even bothered by the scrutiny.

            “I never knew changing batteries could make someone so happy,” Don finally said.

            “It ain’t the batteries bro’, it’s getting out of the lair for a while,” Raph said with a wink.  “It doesn’t hurt knowing Mikey’s catching some of the grief that’s usually reserved for me.”

            “Ahh,” Don said as they entered their home.  Raph never noticed the speculative tone in his smart brother’s voice.

            When it was time to head to the docks, the brothers took their Shell Sleds through the sewers to a point about a mile from their destination.  It was fully dark out and they were unseen as they leaped a fence to gain access to the area where the Purple Dragon’s warehouse was located.

            There were a number of warehouses along that particular dock and the turtles took to the roofs to reach the one they were looking for.  The first thing they sighted was a lookout on top of one of the buildings and that told them they’d located the right place.  Since the man appeared more interested in his cigarette and cell phone than in doing the job he’d been assigned, the brothers had no trouble getting close to the warehouse he was guarding.

            As they looked down at the warehouse entrance, they saw a van had backed in through the double doors.  Men were loading some crates into it and behind them the portion of the warehouse that the turtles could see was filled with similar crates.

            Once the van was loaded, one of the men slammed the back doors shut and climbed into the passenger seat with his assault rifle.  Another man went around to the driver’s side but before he got in, a third Dragon stopped him.

            It was quiet enough for the turtles to hear what they were saying.  “You ain’t gotta go very far, just make sure they don’t know we’re keeping the goods here,” the third man said.

            “I know, I know,” the driver told him.  “Deliver this shit, get paid, don’t get ripped off.  I got it man.”

            They bumped fists and the driver climbed into the van, slowly pulling away from the warehouse.

            “I thought they were making the delivery here,” Leo whispered, looking at Don.

            “There must have been a change of plans,” Don said.  “No trust amongst thieves.”

            “We’ll have to split up,” Leo told them.  “Mikey and I will go after the van, Don and Raph take the warehouse.  Once we’ve incapacitated the Purple Dragons we can call the police to come down here and confiscate the weapons.”

            He glanced at Raph as though expecting an argument but all his red banded brother did was shrug as he said, “Just point me at something ta hit.  I’m fine with letting somebody else clean up afterwards.”

            Leo seemed satisfied with that answer and signaled for Mikey to follow him.

            “I got point,” Raph said as soon as Leo and Mikey were out of sight.  “We take the guy on the roof first so he can’t warn the rest of them.”

            “It might be a good idea to find out how many we’re going up against,” Don suggested mildly.

            Raph looked at him, a corner of his mouth turned up into a cocky grin.  “Don’t worry, I ain’t gonna give Leo a reason ta think we shouldn’t have split up.  We’ll reconnoiter once we get close enough, which we can’t do with that guy up there.”

            “Oh, right,” Don acknowledged a bit sheepishly.

            The pair slipped off of the roof and hugged the shadows along the edge of the building.  Waiting until the lookout had his back turned, they darted across the open ground between buildings and then climbed up the side of the munitions warehouse.

            Raph indicated silently to Don the he should keep his head down and then Raph peeked over the roof’s edge.  The lookout had tucked his phone away and was walking around the roof top, his eyes on the area surrounding the building.  He’d just passed the turtle’s hiding place on his third circuit around when Raph leaped over the edge and pounced on the man’s back, driving him face first into the roofing gravel.

            A solid blow to the head ensured that the man was out cold.  While Raph hogtied the man with his own belt, Don dashed over to the skylight and peered down into the warehouse.

            “Ya’ got a count yet?” Raph asked in a low voice as he crept up to join his brother.

            “Five,” Don said with assurance.  “Fortunately this warehouse is just one big open space; no backrooms, no offices, no restrooms.  No place for them to hide unless they duck down behind the crates.”

            “It’s a good thing there ain’t that many crates,” Raph observed.  “Don’t know if I should be happy about that though; either they never had that many alien weapons ta start with, or they already sold some.”

            “Maybe once we get down there we can find some papers or something that will give us that answer,” Don said.

            “Ya’ wanna open this thing up so we can join our friends?” Raph asked.

            Don already had his glass cutter out and displayed it to his brother with a grin.  As he cut a hole large enough for his hand to fit through, Raph shook out the coils of rope they’d brought with them.  Tying the ends to a couple of vent pipes, Raph waited while Don flicked open the latch that kept the large skylight panel locked in place.  Raph was glad that Leo had sent Don with him, working with the genius was always a pleasure.

            “Down to the rafters, then hit the shadows,” Raph whispered, tossing one of the ropes to Don after his brother silently tipped the panel up and out of the way.

            “I’ll go left,” Don whispered back.

            With a nod, Raph slipped through the open skylight and Don went in right behind him.

            As soon as his feet touched the rafters, Raph released the rope and ran lightly across the metal beams, finding a shadowed area of the warehouse into which he could further descend.

            He knew that Don would prefer to take out the Purple Dragons with as little commotion as possible.  Since there were only five of them, Don stood a good chance of getting his wish.  Unfortunately, that meant that Raph wasn’t going to be enjoying much of a workout.

            The murmur of voices almost directly in front of him stopped Raph’s search and he dropped into crouch behind a stack of crates.  Two of the men he was looking for were standing together, guns tucked into their waistbands as they passed a joint of marijuana back and forth.

            A two-for-one deal like that was too good to pass up and Raph grinned rapaciously as he silently climbed to the top of the crates.  Glancing around to make sure no one else was in sight, he leaped off of the crates and onto the men, wrapping his large hands around the backs of their heads and slamming them together.

            The only sounds Raph’s attack made were a loud thud as the men’s skulls connected and twin thumps as their unconscious bodies hit the floor.  Still grinning, Raph slipped back into the shadows.

            It didn’t take him long to locate two more of the Dragons.  Both stood on opposite sides of the open warehouse doors.  More alert than the two Raph had taken down, the men carried rifles which they kept cradled and ready in their arms.

            Raph was about to move closer to them when a light flashed in his eyes and drew his attention.  Looking in the direction the light had come from, he saw Donatello trying to draw his notice.  His brother was on a rafter just above one of the men guarding the doors and when Don saw Raph looking at him, he held up a walkie-talkie.

            Don’s message couldn’t have been clearer if he’d said it out loud.  Glancing at the men, Raph saw that one of them was holding a walkie-talkie, which meant he was in communication with someone not inside the warehouse.

            When Raph looked back up to Don, he nodded, letting his brother know he’d seen it.  Don held up one finger and Raph knew his brother had already gotten the fifth man, explaining how Don had wound up with his walkie-talkie.  Raph help up two fingers so that Don would know that the two at the door were the only remaining Purple Dragons in the building.

            Using a sign language that the brothers had devised, Don let Raph know that the person on the other end of the walkie-talkie was Hun himself.  As much as Raph would have loved to kick Hun’s ass, he knew that the man could ruin their plans to have the police confiscate the crates of alien weapons.

            Raph saw that Don was staring at him expectantly and realized that since Raph had called point, his brother was waiting for him to come up with a plan.  Whatever they did had to somehow get the Dragon’s finger off the send button on that walkie-talkie or not only would Hun descend on them but Leo and Mikey would also get a lot of unforeseen visitors.

            Pulling one of his sai from his belt, Raph balanced it on his hand and gauged the distance between him and the walkie-talkie.  Then he looked up at his brother and pointed from Don to the unsuspecting Dragon beneath him.  Don nodded in understanding and readied himself.

            Taking a deep breath, Raph threw the sai directly at the communication device, springing forward as the weapon left his hand.  At almost the exact same moment, Don jumped down from the rafters onto the man underneath him, driving the Purple Dragon straight into the concrete floor.

            The sai pierced the center of the walkie-talkie with spot on precision, the force of the throw jerking the device out of the man’s hand.  He cried out and tried to bring the barrel of his rifle up, but his hand was numb from the shock of the blow to the walkie-talkie and he fumbled the weapon.

            Seeing his partner go down the man took a step towards Don, preparing to swing the rifle butt at the turtles head, but in the next second Raph was on top of him.  A powerful uppercut from Raph’s work hardened fist lifted the man off his feet and sent him flying against the wall, where he hit hard enough to leave a dent in the metal.

            While the now unconscious man slid down to the floor, the brothers grinned at each other.  Their triumph was short lived however as the sound of sirens and the _chop-chop_ of approaching helicopters reached them.

            “Ya’ didn’t jump the gun and call the cops already did ya’ Donny?” Raph asked, quickly retrieving his sai.

            “No and neither Leo or Mikey would have either since they don’t know how we’re doing,” Don said.  “Let’s get out of here so we can find out if they’re okay.”

            As they darted out of the warehouse, one of the helicopters passed overhead.  The beam from its giant searchlight raked across the pavement in front of the building and Raph quickly shoved Donny out of its path before jumping back in time to avoid being illuminated.

            The brothers hugged the wall as they ran, waiting until both helicopters were executing turns before they chanced moving into the open, and then racing across the pavement to the next warehouse.  The sirens were getting closer now and one of the copters had stopped circling to hover over the weapons warehouse.

            Keeping their eyes on the second copter, Raph and Don ran farther along the dock, dodging from building to building as they put distance between themselves and the police.  While they ran, Don pulled out his shell cell and called Leo.

            After listening for a second, Don replied, “It wasn’t us either.  We’d just finished wrapping up the last of the Dragons when we heard the sirens and got out of there.”

            Raph couldn’t hear Leo’s end of the conversation but from Don’s expression it didn’t seem as though big brother was too happy.

            “Okay, we’ll meet you there,” Don finally said and hung up.

            “What happened?” Raph immediately asked.

            “Leo and Mikey had a little bit of a wait because the buyers weren’t there when the van stopped,” Don said.  “Two men got out of the van and said something to one in the back that Leo hadn’t seen, and then the Dragons just stood around waiting.  Leo was starting to think the buyers had changed their minds when he saw the headlights of a car coming towards the van.

            “Before the approaching car even had a chance to stop the police sirens sounded and the buyers threw the car in reverse and peeled out of there.  Leo and Mikey jumped the men with the van before they could make a getaway and left all three tied up in the back with the crates of weapons.”

            “We still don’t know who tipped off the cops,” Raph said.

            They were outside of the dock yard at this point and took to the roof tops.  Pausing there, they looked back towards the warehouse they’d just come from.

            “Maybe one of the Dragons was an informant,” Don said.  “All of that could have been prearranged with the police.”

            “If that’s the case then there was some mighty poor planning involved,” Raph observed.  “You’d think they’d have waited until the buyers could be caught in the net too.”

            They watched as one of the helicopters flew off to the east of them, its searchlight dimmed.

            “Come on, let’s get farther away from here,” Don said nervously.  “We’re supposed to meet Leo and Mikey on top of the Mercer building.”

            “Yeah,” Raph acknowledged without moving.

            Don had started off but stopped when he saw that Raph wasn’t following him.

            “Raph?” Don asked.

            “Tell Leo I’ll be home later,” Raph said, his eyes looking out towards the sparkling city lights.  “I didn’t even break a sweat during our little warehouse romp.  I’m gonna run for a while.”

            “There isn’t anything else we can do here,” Don said, giving him a quirky look.

            Raph turned and grinned at his brother.  “I ain’t gonna go looking for trouble, Donatello.  I already promised Master Splinter and I don’t intend ta do anything that’ll make him forget about being upset with Mikey.”

            Don studied Raph for a moment and then asked, “Restless?”

            Not sure what if Don was digging for information, Raph shrugged.  “Maybe.  Call it that or say I got energy ta burn off.  Do ya’ really want me and Mikey stuck in the lair together right now?”

            “No,” Don replied, seeming to relax.  “He’s probably wound up too.  I’d say keeping you two apart for a little while would be an act of self-preservation.”

            Happy that Don wasn’t asking anymore questions, Raph said, “Thanks bro’.”

            Don saluted before turning away and jogging off.  After a second, Raph moved in the opposite direction.

            Raph kept to the roof edges of buildings as he ran so that he could see the activity below him.  He hadn’t gone but a few blocks when a long black car parked at a curb caught his attention.

            Coming to a quick stop, Raph rested one foot on the ledge of the building he was on, draping an arm across his knee as he leaned forward to inspect the vehicle.  It had caught his eye because it looked very familiar and within moments he knew why.

            The back door opened and Hun stepped out of the car, a cell phone pressed against his ear.  It was obvious the big man was agitated by the way he was pacing up and down the sidewalk, one hand waving in the air as he talked.

            Raph couldn’t hear the conversation but he could guess what it was about.  He’d probably just learned that his warehouse full of alien armaments was now in the hands of the police.

            It was very tempting to jump down from the roof and confront Hun, perhaps even rub it in the man’s face that the turtles had been responsible for his men’s inability to protect the warehouse.  Somehow Raph managed to control that instinct, remembering that he’d promised Master Splinter and Don that he wouldn’t get into trouble.

            Watching Hun throw the phone against a brick wall and then put a large dent in the side of his car with his foot was rewarding enough.  When Hun jumped back into the car and it sped off, Raph enjoyed a nice long laugh.

            He suddenly found himself wondering if Hun was gay.  He never saw the man with a woman, though there were probably a lot of Dragon wanna-be chicks that’d sleep with the behemoth as an initiation into the club.  The thought was random and didn’t gross Raph out as much as it should have.

            Shaking his head to get those ideas out of it, Raph straightened up, preparing to get on with his run.  A vibration against his carapace stopped him and Raph grabbed for his shell cell only to discover that wasn’t where the call was coming from.

            Frowning, Raph pulled Bishop’s burner phone from his belt and stared at it.  He’d assumed it was only for making calls; it never dawned on him that Bishop might phone him.

            Cautiously, Raph brought the phone up to his ear slit, waiting a second before muttering, “Yeah?”

            _“Raphael.”_ It was Bishop, his voice low and smooth as he caressed the turtle’s name.

            “What the hell,” Raph said; looking around to make sure none of his brothers had come after him.  “Ya’ ain’t supposed ta be calling me.”

            _“I’m only a couple of blocks from your location,”_ Bishop said, ignoring Raph’s reproachful tone. _“Can you meet me?”_

            “How did ya’ know it was okay ta call me?” Raph asked.  It hadn’t occurred to him until now that Bishop might have bugged the phone or placed some kind of tracking device in it.  He mentally kicked himself; the man could already know where the lair was located.

            _“I’ll explain everything to you when you arrive,”_ Bishop said, adding, _“I give you my word I am not trying to trick you. I’ve had numerous opportunities to do that already if I had wanted to.”_

            Raph could feel his anger rising; first at the incautious phone call and then at the thought that he’d been duped by Bishop this entire time.  Too pissed to be judicious, he asked, “Where are ya’?”

            As soon as Bishop gave Raph his location, the turtle hung up and headed towards the rendezvous.  While he ran, Raph battled the rising tide of resentment he was feeling; hating the thought that he’d ignored his own initial doubts about Bishop’s trustworthiness just because of a handful of pretty prose and a chance to stick his dick into something other than his own hand.

            The building where he’d been directed to go turned out to be an affluent apartment complex, complete with a roof top pool and a pool house.  That was where he found Bishop was waiting for him.

            Bishop beckoned him to come inside the structure and after a hard look around, Raph did so.  The pool house was basically a large room with individual chambers where residents and guests could change, two large shower stalls, and several benches scattered around the center of the space.  It took only one glance to determine that the place was empty except for himself and the agent.

            Raph spun around as he heard the sound of the door being locked.  Even without his jacket and dark glasses, both of which lay on a nearby bench, the man still looked imposing.

            With no preliminaries, Raph blurted out, “Are ya’ following me?  Is this damn phone bugged?  Did ya’ stick a tracking device inside of it?”

            “No, no,” Bishop said, showing Raph his palms in a supplicant gesture.  “I haven’t done any of those things; that phone is totally clean.”

            “Then how the fuck did ya’ know where I was and that my brothers weren’t around ta hear your call?” Raph asked, not in the least bit mollified by Bishop’s assurances.

            “Our being in the same vicinity was completely happenstance,” Bishop said, taking a couple of steps nearer to Raph, who stood his ground.  “My people monitor Oroku Saki’s activities and by virtue of their connection, that of the Purple Dragons as well.  We picked up some messages that the Dragons were moving a stash of alien weapons for Saki, but not when it was happening.

            “Tonight we intercepted a call from one of the gang to their leader Hun telling him that you and your brothers were attacking their warehouse.”

            “Damn, that means we missed one,” Raph said, his brow furrowed.

            “Probably because he ran away,” Bishop told him.  “As soon as we heard that message I took a team out to the warehouse.”

            Raph suddenly understood.  “That wasn’t the cops was it?  That was your EPF guys.”

            “Exactly,” Bishop said.  “We confiscated the alien weapons that were stockpiled there and got the ones out of the van.  I was in one of the helicopters and I looked for you, knowing that you were probably still somewhere about.  When you and your brother ran across to the other warehouse I saw you.  I guessed at the direction you were heading and directed my pilot to bring me here and as he was doing so, I spotted the two of you on that roof top.  After I landed here, I used binoculars to relocate you and that’s when I saw the two of you split up.”

            Although Bishop’s story was smooth and accounted for everything, Raph wasn’t in the least appeased by it.  He couldn’t shake his irritation at the man and his methods.

            “I don’t like the feeling of being followed around no matter the reason,” Raph said flatly.  “That’s not the kind of excitement that gets me going Bishop, that’s the kind that pisses me off.”

            Bishop came closer, moving slowly, almost sinuously.  “I apologize.  In my enthusiasm at the thought of seeing you again I did not use the best judgment.  I wouldn’t have chanced that phone call if I hadn’t known for certain that you were alone.  Please grant me a few mistakes, I am still learning about you and the things you both like and dislike.  I have thought about you frequently and was wondering if and when you would call.”

            “Just ‘cause I ain’t a top government agent don’t mean I haven’t got stuff I gotta take care of,” Raph said in a grouchy tone.  “Don’t even try ta telling me you’re like some chick sitting around waiting for a guy ta call.”

            “I wouldn’t go quite that far, no,” Bishop said with a smile.  He was close enough to Raph to place his palm against the turtle’s chest.  Looking into Raph’s eyes, Bishop said, “You were working tonight and because of the job you did, I’ve managed to remove hundreds of alien weapons from our streets.  I wanted a chance to thank you, not to make you angry at me.  Let me make it up to you.”

            His hand slid down Raph’s plastron, caressing the scutes.  Bishop’s touch was sensuous and the innuendo behind his words brought images of their first night together into Raph’s head.  Even though Raph was trying to hang on his anger, he was getting turned on.

            Grabbing Bishop’s wrist, Raph told him roughly, “I ain’t got time for this.”

            “Then until we can meet again when your time isn’t being monitored, let me give you something to remember me by,” Bishop said, urging Raph backwards until he was up against one of the benches.  Tugging at Raph’s arm, Bishop coaxed Raph into sitting down.

            “What are ya’ doing?” Raph asked, swallowing heavily as Bishop dropped onto his knees and spread the turtle’s legs so that he could scoot in between them.

            Bishop carefully untied Raph’s belt, letting the ends slide from his fingers.  Raph’s sais hit the bench with a solid thunk, but he barely noticed as Bishop leaned in to press a kiss to the obvious bulge that had begun forming between Raph’s legs.

            “I want to teach you something new,” Bishop said, his voice deepened by lust.  Just the sound of it made Raph’s cock harden.

            “Hang on to the bench,” Bishop instructed and then began to stroke the slowly opening slit in Raph’s plastron with his tongue.

            Raph gasped and fumbled for a hold on the edges of the bench, clutching at it as he leaned back a little farther.  Bishop’s hot, enticing tongue slid along the side of Raph’s shaft and it only took a few passes before Raph’s dick tumbled out of hiding.

            Bishop’s hand immediately surrounded the organ, pumping it several times to bring Raph to a full erection.  Then he dipped down again and played his tongue across the tip of Raph’s cock.

            Only Raph’s crushing grip on the bench kept him from seizing Bishop’s head and forcing the man to take the whole of his length right then.  Instead a full body shudder racked Raph’s body as he began to churr, rocking his hips forward as encouragement for Bishop to keep going.

            The hint wasn’t necessary; Bishop repeated the gesture several times, flicking his tongue against the sensitive tip of Raph’s cock before suddenly wrapping his entire mouth around the head.

            Of course Raph had heard the term ‘deep throating’ before.  Running the streets at night he often encountered hookers taking care of men in back alleys.  Until this moment he’d never associated a physical sensation with what he’d seen, but now he fully understood.  The head of his cock dipped into the moist, smooth heat at the back of Bishop’s throat and the man made a sound that was part moan and part breathy exhale, the combination vibrating Raph’s dick.

            Even before the incredible feeling faded, Bishop’s lips slipped off of Raph’s cock and he quickly stroked it before plunging his mouth down to take the turtle’s entire shaft into his orifice again.  This time his lips tightened as Bishop’s head bobbed up and down, his tongue snaking all along Raph’s throbbing member as he moved.

            Raph’s breathing was ragged, his eyes half closed as he felt the spiraling tightness beginning to form in his lower regions.  Somewhere in a far corner of his mind he argued with himself that he shouldn’t be letting Bishop give him a blow job, that he should be distancing himself from the agent.  But then Bishop began to caress Raph’s tail as he sucked his cock, even playing his fingers around Raph’s entrance, and the turtle knew he was too far gone to stop anything.

            It was that acceptance that sent him over the edge.  Bishop took him down into his throat again, repeating the sound that sent such a delicious tremor along Raph’s length, and the turtle simply exploded.  Flinging his head back to cry out, Raph’s entire body was wracked by spasms as he orgasmed into Bishop’s mouth.

            Eyes closed, face tipped up towards the ceiling Raph gasped for air, barely noticing that Bishop swallowed all of his seed.  It wasn’t until cool air hit his wilting cock that Raph’s eyes fluttered open and he looked down to see Bishop still kneeling in front of him.  Bishop’s dark gaze met Raph’s golden one as the agent licked his lips, looking for all the world like Mikey’s cat Klunk when it had caught a mouse to play with.

            Peeling his fingers from the bench, Raph straightened up slowly and tucked his cock into its protective pouch.  While Raph grabbed his belt, Bishop stood up and took several steps back to give the turtle room.

            “You’d better go before your brothers start to wonder where you are,” Bishop said in a deceptively mild tone of voice.

            Raph’s legs were feeling a little shaky but he forced them to hold him as he got off the bench.  There was something about the self-satisfied expression on Bishop’s face that made Raph want have it out with the man, but he was worried that his brothers would follow his shell cell signal.

            It was also damned hard to tell a guy to get lost after receiving a mind numbing blow job from him.

            Instead Raph settled for gruffly saying, “Don’t call the phone again.  When I got the time, I’ll call ya’.”

            “Of course,” Bishop said, making no further move toward Raph as the turtle stalked past him and exited the pool house.

            Even in his half groggy state, Raph remembered that he needed to remove Bishop’s scent from his body.  Fortunately it was a warm night and the swimming pool was right there in front of him.  Setting his belt and weapons on the edge, Raph dove into the water, swimming its length twice before deciding that the chlorine had eradicated the man’s essence from him.

            After Raph retrieved his things he worked his through the sewers back to where he’d left his Shell Sled.  His brain was starting to function again and he sat on his Sled for a few minutes without starting it, mulling over his encounter with Bishop.

            Raph didn’t understand what Bishop had gotten out of it, other than seeing Raph face-to-face again.  Or rather groin to face, Raph thought with a grimace.  Surely Bishop wasn’t satisfied with a relationship that seemed so totally one sided, even if the physical aspect kept Raph coming back for more.

            It dawned on Raph suddenly that pretty much everything Bishop did was manipulative.  He dangled the carrots and Raph chased them, wearing the blinders made of Bishop’s promises.  Raph decided he rather disliked that.

TBC…………….


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Word Count: 3,655 multi-chapter 2k3 verse  
> Summary: Raphael has a secret admirer - or two.  
> Rating p16: R  
> Pairing: Casey/Raph/Casey, Bishop/Raph/Bishop, Ryan/Raph/Ryan

            His unexpected encounter with Bishop left Raph feeling wary and suspicious.  Despite Bishop’s assurances that the burner phone didn’t contain a tracking device, Raph stopped before he was anywhere near the lair and hid the phone in the tunnels.

            Although it was only a few minutes past midnight, which was early for the brothers, when Raph walked into the lair he wasn’t accosted by anyone.  Glancing up towards the bedrooms, he saw that both Leo and Mikey had gone to bed.

            A little surprised but quite happy to come home for once and not be greeted by an indignant turtle reception committee, Raph noted that Don’s bedroom door stood open.  The lab door was open as well and that made Raph frown.  His brother must have come home because otherwise the message that Raph was staying out for a while longer wouldn’t have been delivered.

            Taking the stairs two at a time, Raph was about to double check Don’s room when he saw that someone had taped a note to his own bedroom door.  Crossing over to it, Raph tugged it down and recognized Leo’s distinctive handwriting.  All it said was that Don had gone to April’s because she had called needing his help with something and that Raph shouldn’t worry about him if Don wasn’t home before Raph got in.

            “Since when does April need help with anything in the middle of the night?” Raph muttered to himself.

            Entering his room and closing the door, Raph stripped off his gear and rolled into his hammock, still holding the note.  The more he looked at it, the more fishy it sounded.

            Maybe it was Raph’s own subterfuge that made him extra observant, but his mind started to juggle some of Don’s recent conversations.  Like when his brother had blushed and said he didn’t want to know about April and other men.  Or when, on his way to April’s apartment, he’d said he could relate to being with someone who you could totally relax around.

            Or when Don had almost stuttered when Leo had commented on the project Don and April were working on.  Raph thought at the time that Don was just embarrassed at not being able to solve a problem, but now he wondered if there wasn’t a different explanation.

            At some point during Raph’s ruminations he fell asleep.  If he dreamed at all, Raph didn’t remember them when his alarm clock went off the next morning.

            All four brothers appeared for practice and Raph noticed that Don seemed well rested in spite of his late night.  That didn’t prove much though; Don was used to getting by on very little sleep, more so than even Raph was.  Don also rarely ever took naps, something that Raph indulged in whenever he got the chance.

            When practice ended, Raph waited for his father to go back to his room and then knocked on the door.

            “Enter!” Master Splinter called out.

            “Sorry sensei, I wanted ta catch ya’ before ya’ started meditating,” Raph said after he was inside.  “Ryan, Angel’s brother, invited me ta help him work on some cars tonight and I said I would.  I’m gonna be out kinda late ‘cause it’s an after-hours job.”

            It was sort of the truth.  Raph figured that racing mini go karts could be considered working on them.

            His father contemplated Raph for a moment and Raph met his look with an open countenance, his mind focused on an image of an auto repair shop.

            “Thank you for telling me of your intentions,” Master Splinter finally said.  “I shall relay the information to Leonardo, though I do not believe he had plans for the four of you to patrol tonight.  Your absence should not be an issue.”

            “Thank you, father,” Raph said meekly, bowing as he left the room.

            With that task done, Raph knew he had hours of idle time to get through before he was due to meet up with Ryan.  The idea of sitting around didn’t appeal to him; he was already feeling the first flutters of nerves and having nothing to do would only make it worse.

            His mind, looking for a way to curb the tension, went back to thinking about Donatello.  Of his three brothers, Don was the least likely to butt into Raph’s business.  He’d be at the front of the line if he thought Raph was sick or injured, but he was normally not overly curious about anything his siblings were doing.

            Now Don seemed to be saying a lot of mysterious stuff, asking embarrassing questions, and being more inquisitive than normal.  It didn’t have the same feeling of mild vindictiveness that Mikey’s curiosity did though; with Don it was almost like he was looking for some sort of validation.

            Raph remembered back to when they’d first met April O’Neil and how Don had developed such a crush on her.  Don had never said anything to her about his feelings and when she got with Casey, Don had shrugged off the notion that he was carrying a torch for her as though it was a thing of the past.  Now Raph wondered if that were really the case or if Don had simply accepted that April wanted to be with a human male.

            His own sudden and strong need for companionship had Raph thinking that he couldn’t possibly be the only one of his brothers with that kind of longing.  Suppose Don had been hit just as hard?  Raph decided that he was tired of trying to keep everything bottled up inside of him and that he didn’t want to believe that he was the only one with a desire for romance.

            The decision to confront Don about it was almost subconscious as Raph’s feet turned towards his brother’s lab.  This was one of those times when Raph was glad Don was so predictable _and_ that he preferred solitude while he worked.

            Don looked up from his computer when he heard the door he’d left open click shut.  He leaned back in his chair and stretched, smiling a greeting at his brother.

            The expression on Raph’s face must have warned Don and the smile faded, replaced by a look of alert watchfulness.

            “You okay, Raph?” Don asked, frowning.

            Not one to beat around the bush, Raph asked, “What did April need your help with last night?”

            Don didn’t as much as twitch as he stared at Raph, neither did he respond for a long three count.  Finally he asked, “Aren’t you the one who dislikes people poking into his business?”

            “Ya’ got some nerve throwing that in my face after being all over my shell for the last few days,” Raph said.  “Ya’ said that April told ya’ a couple of months ago that she broke up with Casey, but all of a sudden you’re curious about what he’s been up to and if he’s been seeing anyone.”

            “Maybe I was just concerned because the two of you had a fight,” Don said carefully.

            “Or maybe ya’ wanted ta make sure that fight didn’t have anything ta do with April,” Raph shot back.  “If ya’ want ta two step, then let’s dance.  I think ya’ got something going on with April and it ain’t any inventory system.”

            Raph had played poker with Don enough to know his tells.  The genius’ hands stiffened slightly and Don looked down at them rather than maintaining eye contact with his brother.

            “Would that be such a bad thing?” Don asked quietly, surprising Raph who had expected instant denials.

            “I guessed right, didn’t I?  Are April and ya’ having an affair?” Raph asked, staring hard at his brother.

            “You didn’t answer my question,” Don said, slowly looking up.

            Raph laughed once.  “No I didn’t ‘cause you’re the one playing dodge ball with _my_ questions.  Do _you_ think it’s a bad thing?”

            Don suddenly straightened in his chair.  “I saw April first and I’ve always been there for her.  Casey has never done anything but hurt her.  How do you think she felt when after all this time he told her that he wasn’t happy being with women?”

            As soon as the words came out, Don’s mouth snapped shut.  From his expression it was obvious he wished he’d have bitten his tongue rather than say what he did.

            Now it was Raph’s turn to stare, his mind a blank.  Don knew.  Don had known for months that Casey was gay.

            Raph knew he should say something, _anything_ , but the words wouldn’t form.  He wasn’t sure what his face was giving away because he honestly felt numb.  April knew, Don knew; why hadn’t they told him?  He was Casey’s best friend.

            Don’s eyes suddenly widened, the look on his face one of sudden understanding.  “Casey came on to you, didn’t he?”

            “Why the shell didn’t ya’ tell me he was gay?” Raph demanded, avoiding Don’s question.

            “Because I didn’t think it mattered,” Don said.  “He’s still Casey; nothing about him has changed, including his inability to have a meaningful conversation with the people that are closest to him.  The fact that he broke up with April and the reasons why weren’t my story to tell, they were his.  I had no idea it was going to take so damn long.”

            That one curse word was enough to tell Raph that Donny was beyond agitated.  It made Raph wonder if his brother was burdened by guilt over his affair with April.

            “Ya’ could have told me that the two of ya’ had gotten together,” Raph said quietly.  “Ya’ didn’t have ta keep it ta yourself.  I can be happy for ya’.”

            Don sighed.  “I couldn’t take the chance that it would get back to Casey,” he admitted.  “He instigated the break up and April was pretty relieved about that, but she’s always been a little worried too.  Until he found someone of his own, April was afraid he’d still feel territorial about her.”

            “Yeah, I can see that,” Raph said, nodding.  “But Donny, if ya’ got something special with April ya’ can’t hide it forever.  Suppose that bone head don’t ever find someone he wants ta be with, or who wants ta be with him?”

            Don looked down at his fingers again, seemingly of two minds about something.  Finally he lifted his head and said, “I don’t like keeping secrets,” he declared.  “I’ve been closed mouthed about things because those were April’s wishes.  It doesn’t seem right to me not to come out into the open about our feelings for each other, but I’m not a woman so I can’t think like one.  Maybe I don’t completely agree with her choice, but since I can’t possibly have the same perspective that she has, I have to honor her request.”

            “She’s worried about him, ain’t she?” Raph asked.

            “Of course she is,” Don said.  “So am I.  He’s still our friend; our family.  We don’t want him to be hurt.”

            “Yeah,” Raph said thoughtfully.  “I think he’s kinda confused right now.”

            “As confused as you are?” Don asked.

            Raph started, surprised at the question.  “What’s that supposed ta mean?”

            “I recognize the signs, bro’,” Don answered.  “The changes in behavior and routine, staring off into space and zoning out, being more touchy than usual about your privacy.  After I’ve been with April I make sure to shower before I leave her apartment so her scent isn’t on me.  I heard about your ‘accident’ with the gasoline the other night and when you came home from Casey’s you smelled of a different soap.”

            Feeling defensive, Raph said, “Maybe I really did spill gas and the whole soap thing might be ‘cause Casey accidently dumped his beer on me.”

            “Or maybe you’ve become as sexually aware as I have,” Don fired back without a pause.  “Do you prefer men?”

            The question was so abrupt that Raph gawked at his brother.  “What the hell?”

            “You didn’t answer my question about Casey but I’m going to guess that he did come on to you,” Don said.  “I don’t think you said no either.  This is you and me, Raph.  I’m not going to tell anyone anything.”

            Raph grit his teeth as he tried to decide what to do.  It seemed idiotic to hold back now, considering he’d instigated this showdown in the first place because he needed someone to talk to.

            “He told me he had a thing for me,” Raph said.  “We kinda been . . . experimenting, ya’ know?  Trying things out.  I always thought I’d like women if the chance ever came my way ta be with one, but I’m sort of finding out I lean a different direction.  I like . . .  I like the feeling that I can let loose and not have ta worry about breaking someone.  That I can get what I want the way I want it without having ta hold back.”

            “Let your more brutish and animalistic instincts guide you?” Don said with a half-smile.

            Raph knew Don well enough to understand that his brother wasn’t making fun of him.  “I don’t think I could do delicate,” Raph said.  “I sure as shell can’t deal with some woman yelling at me ta pick up after myself and ta stop scratching my ass in front of her.”

            “Be who you are and do what you like with someone you can totally relax around,” Don said, repeating exactly the words he’d said to Raph in the tunnels the night before last.

            “It just so happens I can only do that with guys,” Raph said.  “You surprised?”

            “A little,” Don said, being honest.  “To each his own; you have to be true to yourself because in the end that’s all that really counts.  You said you and Casey were experimenting.  How serious is this thing between you?”

            Raph scratched his jaw, feeling slightly uncomfortable again.  “Casey confessed that he’s been thinking that way about me for some time and wanted to give this a try, no strings attached and no hard feelings.  We ain’t been together that much but already I’m thinking that it’s maybe not a good match for either of us.”

            “Were you giving in to your curiosity?” Don asked, looking concerned.

            With a sharp glance at his brother, Raph said, “I ain’t leading him on if that’s what you’re asking.  We both agreed that if either of us ain’t really feeling it we’ll drop the whole thing.  He don’t want ta be stuck in another situation like he was with April and I don’t want ta get ta the point of actively hating him.”

            “It sounds like you’ve already decided to return to the friend zone with Casey,” Don said.  “Will it be that easy?”

            Raph thought about the question before answering, reviewing everything he and Casey had talked about and the things they’d done.  None of it was irreparable or damaging and from his last phone conversation with Casey it certainly seemed as though the man wasn’t all that invested in the concept of a relationship.

            “Yeah,” Raph finally answered, “I think it’ll be damn easy.  Listen bro’, ya’ gotta keep this a secret, okay?  Whatever me and Casey have done is between us.  I don’t need anybody in this family opening his big mouth and embarrassing Casey about any of this.”

            “You mean Mikey, don’t you?” Don asked with a grin.  “I’ll keep your secret.  May I ask that you do as much for me?  Whether you agree or not, I won’t breathe a word of what you’ve told me to anyone.”

            “Oh hell, Donny,” Raph said, knowing he was turning slightly red.  “It ain’t a question of honor; you’ve got that in spades.  I ain’t ever known ya’ ta break a confidence unless it was life or death and this ain’t, it’s just embarrassing.  Don’t worry, I won’t say anything about what ya’ got going with April.  Like ya’ said earlier about Casey, this one ain’t my secret ta tell.”

           Now it was Don’s turn to change color and Raph decided that his brother looked damn good when he was in love and still a little self-conscious about it.

            “Thanks Raph,” Don said softly.  “I know April won’t want to keep this a secret for much longer.  We’re just waiting for a decent amount of time to pass.”

            “So that Casey doesn’t think ya’ swept her out from under him,” Raph concluded.  “I think you’re doing the right thing.  He might have been the one to break up with April, but if he knew ya’ got with her after that, the bone head probably _would_ think ya’ stole her.  Sometimes he ain’t too bright.”

            “Oh I don’t know,” Don said with a shy smile.  “I think he showed a lot of good sense in being attracted to you.”

            Raph punched his brother’s arm playfully.  “That’s why I like talking ta ya’, Donny.  Ya’ know just how ta pump up my ego.”

            “As though you needed any help in that department,” Don retorted, grinning at his brother.

            Waving towards his brother’s computer, Raph said, “Go back ta whatever ya’ was doing.  I’m gonna go give my bike a tune up.”

            Don was already turning back to his computer screen as he said, “The new spark plugs are on the shelf under the work bench.”

            “Thanks bro’,” Raph said, opening the door.  “For everything,” he added.

            Glancing up, Don gave him a warm look.  “You too,” he responded.

            Raph spent a few hours in the garage working on his motorcycle and enjoying the solitude.  He had music from the radio to keep him company and a small fridge full of drinks and snacks for when he got hungry.

            Hands and arms covered in grease, sweat on his brow, and the feel of solid machinery were all a small slice of heaven to the red banded turtle.  If he was human, Raph was certain he’d be a motorcycle mechanic.  Everything to do with a bike was freeing, from fixing them to riding them.

            As he worked, Raph thought about his conversation with Don and realized that part of the elation he was feeling was because he wasn’t alone anymore.  Donatello was on his side now; they both shared something that was deeply meaningful and they understood each other.  If he’d had to choose an ally, it would certainly have been Don.  The genius was most definitely the brother with the most diverse skill set and it was a relief not to have to worry about Don trying to find out what he was hiding.

            Don didn’t judge him, didn’t question his masculinity, didn’t do any of the things Raph had been most afraid of when coming to realize he was gay.  Mostly though, Don hadn’t treated him any differently; he’d accepted Raph’s revelation in a matter-of-fact manner.

            Raph would have liked to think that if the roles had been reversed he could be just as accepting, but he wasn’t really sure of that.  Social norms and the influences of the street plus his own macho nature might have combined to make Raph hatefully prejudiced.

            It was probably the fear of that type of reaction that had made it so difficult for Casey to tell Raph about his break-up and the reasons for it.  He’d most likely been in the same boat as Raph was in before his conversation with Don.  Feeling alone and isolated; clinging to his friendship with the turtle as the one solid thing in his life.

            Raph sat on the edge of the work bench and sipped on a bottle of water as he thought about his relationship with Casey.  He’d been mad about the way Casey had treated him after they’d had sex because he’d thought that if the human had really wanted to be with him, he would have made an effort to make Raph feel special.

            Maybe Casey had only thought he wanted Raph that way because when he believed that Raph had found someone to be with, the man had panicked over losing the one person in his life who understood him.  He’d made a play for Raph that was probably more desperation than actually feelings.

            Raph found that he didn’t harbor any resentment about that.  He doubted that Casey even knew why he’d thought he wanted to be with his best friend.

            Shaking his head, Raph decided that the first opportunity he got, he’d sit down with Casey and talk the whole thing through.  They’d both gotten something they needed out of their night together, so neither of them had anything to be resentful over.  They could go back to just being friends and their one night stand would be a memory that they could tease each other about in the future.

            Feeling a lot better than he had in days, Raph headed down to the lair to get cleaned up before he met with Master Splinter for his hour of meditation.  Afterwards he’d help make dinner.  For himself he’d eat light because Ryan had promised him snacks and he wanted to have the appetite to enjoy whatever the man set before him.

            With a sense of joyful anticipation he hadn’t experienced in a long time, Raph practically bounced out of the elevator and dashed towards the bathroom.  On his way there, he ignored Leo and Mikey, who were just coming out of the dojo.

            However, as Raph was about to close the bathroom door behind himself, he felt a strange tickle across the back of his neck, the kind he experienced when he was being watched.  Glancing down to the main floor of the lair, he saw Mikey standing there, blatantly staring at him.

            From his youngest brother’s expression, it was obvious that Mikey was far from giving up on his mission to find out what Raph was doing.  Nor did he care that Raph knew it.

TBC……………


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Word Count: 3,910 multi-chapter 2k3 verse  
> Summary: Raphael has a secret admirer - or two.  
> Rating p17: R  
> Pairing: Casey/Raph/Casey, Bishop/Raph/Bishop, Ryan/Raph/Ryan

            The shower helped erase some of the anger Raph experienced after seeing Mikey staring at him.  Despite all the warnings and the punishment for his prying, Mikey didn’t seem in the least bit dissuaded.  Tenacious was a damn good way to describe his youngest brother.

            Raph turned his focus away from the look he’d seen in Mikey’s eyes and instead contemplated the conversation he’d had with Don.  That was the most productive thing he’d done in a while although Raph was still holding things back.

            He hadn’t said anything about Bishop.  Keeping that from Don wasn’t even a conscious decision; Raph was fully aware that his encounters with Bishop placed his family at risk and that was something Don wouldn’t be able to keep to himself.

            Having Don on his side was more important to Raph than anything else at the moment.  Just knowing he had someone he could talk to removed most of guilt’s weight from Raph’s shoulders.  Don was also the one most capable of keeping Leo off his shell and make it difficult for Mikey to pry or to attempt to follow him.

            Raph could tell that Don was relieved to have someone he could talk to about his relationship with April as well.  In a lot of ways, this was much easier for Don than it was for him.  Don had always been a one woman turtle and there was no more perfect woman for the genius than April O’Neil.

            Don didn’t have to deal with the process of finding his true love; he’d found her years ago.  He’d somehow made peace with the notion that he’d be alone and was content to settle for nothing if he couldn’t have April.

            On the other hand Raph’s desire for someone with whom he could share everything was just awakening.  He hadn’t even been aware of his own preferences until just recently so there was no way for him to know what kind of person he wanted to be with.

            It seemed extraordinarily odd to Raph to think that he actually had choices.  If he’d been asked even a month ago if he thought he’d ever have a partner, he would have laughed out loud at the notion.

            That was partly why he hadn’t said anything to Don about Ryan either.  Not mentioning Bishop kept his genius brother from having to betray his secret for security reasons, but not talking about Ryan was something else entirely.

            Don might have misunderstood how Raph could be thinking about Ryan as a potential lover when he hadn’t even called it off with Casey yet.  Raph didn’t want to lower Don’s opinion of him by appearing to be leading men on or having Don think that Raph had turned into some type of hustler.

            All of this Raph removed from his mind as he joined Master Splinter for meditation.  Instead Raph thought about fishing, something he hadn’t done in a very long time.  Tossing a line into the ocean from a good distance out had to be different than fishing off of a pier or secluded embankment.  Raph was pretty sure the fish would be a lot cleaner too.

            As it turned out, Raph’s assistance in preparing dinner wasn’t required.  Leo and Mikey were already working on it when Raph sauntered into the kitchen and his offer to help was curtly, though politely, declined.

            Not one to shy away when his brothers were peeved at him, Raph refused to leave, instead filling the sink with sudsy water and washing the leftover luncheon dishes.  He also washed the pots and bowls his brothers had used during their dinner prep, getting a head start on after dinner cleanup.

            Raph didn’t get a thank you from Mikey and hadn’t expected one.  Leo however did acknowledge Raph’s gesture with a gratitude that sounded sincere.  By that time dinner was ready to be served and Raph quickly set the table.

            Halfway through dinner Mikey’s behavior towards Raph began to change.  At the beginning of the meal, the youngest brother was patently ignoring Raph, almost behaving as though the red banded turtle was invisible.

            At some point Mikey suddenly took an interest in the amount of food Raph was eating.  Mikey began offering to “top you off”, spooning up enormous portions and trying to put them on Raph’s plate.

            Raph had been eating slowly, partaking of a minimal amount of food so as not to get too full, and hoping not to draw attention to that fact.  He should have known that Mikey would notice and make a thing out of it.

            After the second or third time that Mikey tried to dump more food on his plate Raph began nervously glancing in his direction.  He couldn’t do much about it though because if he jumped on Mikey then Master Splinter might confine him to the lair and there was no way that Raph was missing out on his chance to hang out with Ryan.

            “Mikey, since you’re offering, I’d like another scoop of potatoes,” Don said, checking Mikey’s move as his brother started to aim for Raph’s plate a fourth time.

            “Um, sure,” Mikey said, transferring the food to Don instead.

            “Thank you.”  Don took a bite and then smiled at Mikey.  “This is delicious.  I’m surprised you’re being so magnanimous with the extra servings.  You usually reserve that for times when you’re trying to distract us from something.”

            Mikey had started to aim for Raph’s plate again when Don’s words stopped him.  His face flushed lightly and he shot a quick guilty look in Master Splinter’s direction before putting the spoon back into the bowl.

            Master Splinter’s eyes narrowed as he glanced at Mikey, who was now focused on his own meal, his head down to avoid catching his father’s gaze.  When Master Splinter looked over at Donatello, the genius was wearing a serenely bland expression.

            Raph silently applauded Don’s masterful maneuver and the rest of dinner passed without further incident.  When the meal was over, Mikey began clearing the table while Master Splinter conversed with Leo.  That was Raph’s cue to excuse himself and he was soon followed by Don.

            Having some time to kill before he had to leave, Raph turned the TV on and flipped through the channels until he found a ball game.  Don had gone into his lab, but a couple of minutes after Raph settled on the couch, the genius plopped down next to him.

            “What was that all about?” Don asked in an undertone.

            Raph took a quick look towards the kitchen to make sure the rest of the family was still occupied before answering.  “I’m going out later; got some stuff ta take care of.  I told Master Splinter already but it ain’t none of Mikey’s business.”

            “You were eating lightly because you might have to eat again?” Don guessed.

            “Yeah,” Raph acknowledged.  “Looks like Mikey figured that out too.”

            Don didn’t ask where he was going.  After their earlier conversation, Don probably thought Raph was going to meet with Casey and talk things over.

            “Don’t worry, Mikey won’t follow you,” Don said, his voice low.  “I’ll keep him occupied.”

            “Thanks bro’,” Raph said warmly, “for doing that and for pulling him off of me at dinner.”

            “No sweat,” Don replied with a grin.  “I’ll call in my marker next time I need help hauling something heavy home from the junk yard.”

            Raph guffawed and then settled back to watch the game.  Enjoying televised sports was another of those things he and Don had in common and the next hour was passed in companionable silence.

            When the game ended, Raph went up to his room and lounged with a magazine.  He knew from the address Ryan had given him that it would take around forty-five minutes to reach the race cart track, allowing for traffic.  Since Raph didn’t want to arrive there all hot and sweaty, he was going to take his motorcycle.

            At the allotted time, Raph went downstairs and to his father’s room to let Master Splinter know he was leaving.  On his way to the elevator, Raph spotted his three brothers going into Don’s lab and wasn’t at all surprised to see both Leo and Mikey laden down with electrical wires and various machine parts.

            Chuckling to himself, Raph rode up to the garage, going straight to the peg where his freshly cleaned jacket was hanging.  Sliding into it, Raph then donned his helmet before climbing onto his bike.

            It felt good not to have to worry about being tracked and then taking all of those extra precautions like he’d done before.  That was just another of those things he could be grateful for now that Don was in his corner.

            Out on the road, Raph opened the throttle and enjoyed the feel of his bike’s power thrumming between his legs.  He adjusted his route to avoid high traffic areas and made it to his destination with a couple of minutes to spare, just as he’d planned.

            Raph drove past the building which housed the race cart track, slowing down so that he could see how visible the interior was from the street.  Though lights were on inside and the front wall was made of glass, it was the heavily frosted type from the ground to about three quarters of the way up.  Nothing of the inside could be seen.

            At the next intersection Raph made a U-turn and went back, pulling into the parking lot and proceeding around to the back of the building.  There he spotted a panel van parked next to the loading dock, a ladder strapped to its roof.

            Guessing that the van probably belonged to Ryan, Raphael maneuvered his motorcycle around in front of it so that the bike would be out of sight.  He noted that the van’s back windows were heavily tinted, as were the ones on the driver and passenger sides in front.  It was a good van for a mutant turtle to ride around in without worrying that someone would see him.

            Parking his bike, Raph left his helmet and jacket on the seat and took a cautious look around before hopping up onto the concrete pad in front of the delivery door.

            The door wasn’t locked and Raph slipped inside, habit making him cross into a shadowed area close to the exit.  He saw that he was in a medium sized room, the space divided in half with one area containing food items and a walk-in freezer and the other side devoted to car parts, equipment, and video game components.

            Locating another door not too far away, Raph headed for it, opening it just enough to peek into the interior of the building.  He didn’t see anyone but he did hear what sounded like a hammer pounding away at a wooden board.

            Following the sound, Raph found Ryan hard at work on a wooden railing he was adding to one side of the food court.  Not wanting to startle his friend while he was wielding a hammer, Raph stood still and watched Ryan.  He couldn’t help but admire how the man’s broad shoulders stretched the fabric of his t-shirt, or how nicely Ryan filled out his jeans.

            After a couple of minutes Ryan set his hammer down, wiped his forehead with his sleeve, and picked up a glass of beer that was sitting off to one side.  He was lifting it towards his mouth when he saw Raph’s reflection in the glass and spun around.

            “Damn!” Ryan exclaimed.  “You’re going to have to tell me how you do that.”

            Raph grinned.  “It ain’t something ya’ think about doing, ya’ just do it.  Need some help with that thing?”

            “You’ve got great timing,” Ryan said.  “Can you help me stand this up?  Once I attach it to the other side I’m done for the night.”

            With a nod, Raph took one end of the railing while Ryan grabbed the other.  Together they lifted it into place and then Raph held it there while Ryan drove in the nails that would hold the two railings together.

            As Ryan squatted in front of him in order to hammer in the bottom set of nails, Raph caught a whiff of his scent.  Other than a lightly pleasant fragrance from the gel he used on his hair, Ryan smelled completely natural.  There was an undertone of the sun and sea coming from Ryan’s skin, along with a purely masculine odor.  The combination made Raph’s tail twitch and the turtle lifted his head so that he wouldn’t get any more excited.

            “Got it,” Ryan announced triumphantly, standing back to admire his handiwork.  “I think that calls for a beer.  You ready for one?”

            “Sounds good ta me,” Raph replied, following his friend to the nearby bar.

            Climbing onto a stool, Raph watched Ryan walk around to a shelf that held glasses and then over to the beer taps.  He filled the glass expertly, leaving just the right amount of foam on top, and then set it on the bar in front of Raph.

            Lifting his still half-filled glass, Ryan said, “Cheers.”

            They drank beer and then Ryan set his empty glass down with a satisfied sigh.  “Come on, let me show you how to drive one of the carts and then I’ll race you around the track.”

            “You’re on,” Raph said, jumping down from the stool and walking alongside the man.

            On the way to the carts, Ryan stopped to rummage around in his backpack, pulling out a clean t-shirt.  He stripped off the one he’d been working in, revealing a muscular chest and washboard abs.  Raph had to remind himself not to stare as Ryan changed into his other shirt.

            When they reached the area where the carts were parked, Raph looked at them in dismay.

            “I ain’t gonna fit in these things,” Raph said, noting the narrow space inside the body of the go cart.

            “Yeah, I thought about that,” Ryan told him, eying Raph’s carapace.  “I already took the fiber glass covering off of one of them for you.”

            He pointed to a cart that was stripped of its outer chassis.  Raph smiled in excitement.

            “That’s more like it,” Raph said.  He walked around the cart, studying the design and then gave Ryan a cocky look.  “Let’s get these buggies out on the track.  There ain’t nothing that’s been built that I can’t drive.”

            “We’ve got all the attitude in the world here, don’t we?” Ryan shot back with a grin.  “Best two out of three and loser has to put the cover back on that cart.”

            “Deal,” Raph agreed, gold eyes twinkling.

            The little go cart took Raph by surprise; he wasn’t expecting that it could get up to nearly fifty miles an hour.  He had no trouble handling the cart itself but it took a bit to get the hang of the turns in the track.  Ryan won the first race by a hood’s length and an exhilarated Raph gave him a fist bump in congratulations.

            After that it was all Raph.  He took the stripped down cart around the track with what some might mistake for recklessness, but was actually an acute understanding of the vehicle and the course.  Raph calculated the turns with a precision that would have made his genius brother proud and he beat Ryan in the next two races.

            Laughing after the final race, Ryan offered Raph his hand and they shook, their hands separating at the same moment just as they’d done before.  It was a good sign that they were still in sync and Raph was more than pleased by that.

            “I suppose it’s best that I put that thing back together since I am the one that stripped it,” Ryan said.

            “We’ll both do it,” Raph said.  “It’ll get done faster that way.”

            Once they had the cart reassembled, Ryan said, “I hope you worked up an appetite.  I thawed out some hamburgers and hot dogs; just got to toss them on the grill.”

            “That’s sounds perfect,” Raph said, following his friend back to the food court.

            While Ryan grilled the meat, Raph enjoyed another cold beer and listened as the man talked about growing up.  It wasn’t long before he was setting a platter of hot hamburger patties and hot dogs on the counter next to the condiments that were already lined up there.

           As they built their burgers and dogs, Ryan said, “You know, grams was a great influence on Angel.  Me, not so much.  I was always bouncing around like a gypsy, trying to find the next great treasure.  It wasn’t fair of me to think that grams could handle a precocious youngster like Angel all by herself.  The poor kid wanted more family than we were giving her and that made her fair game for the damn Purple Dragons.”

            “A lot of kids get caught up with gangs for all kinds of reasons,” Raph said.  “We see it all the time.  Catch them early enough and ya’ can give them one of those teachable moments that turn them off of the gang life.”

            Ryan smiled around the bite of hot dog he’d just taken.  “I can imagine what one of your ‘teachable moments’ consists of.”

            Raph chuckled and bit into his hamburger.  His face immediately lit up as he chewed and swallowed.  “Damn, this is good!”

            Still grinning at him, Ryan said, “I used to work here as a cook.  Since I was a teenager I’ve done a little bit of everything so I could help support grams and my sister.  Okay, enough about me, tell me about you and your family.  I don’t know a thing about how you came to be or how you survived without being found.”

            The question was relaxed and open, without the hint of awkwardness or avid curiosity that normally slipped into queries about Raph’s origins from other humans that he’d met.  As they ate, Raph filled Ryan in on how they were mutated, how his father had kept them alive, and how they’d grown up learning ninjitsu.

            By the time he was done with his tale, the food was gone and the pair were sitting back with fresh glasses of beer.  Raph hadn’t felt so comfortable in a long time and knew that it was Ryan’s company that was responsible.

            “Ain’t a lot more ta tell,” Raph said.  “We found our purpose in life was protecting people that can’t protect themselves and trying ta rid the world of the scum the cops can’t touch.”

            “That’s a lot more noble than my treasure hunting,” Ryan said with a look of admiration.

            “Ya’ do that partly for the excitement but mostly ‘cause ya’ wanna take care of Angel,” Raph said adamantly.  “Family is always the most important thing and the best men are the ones who don’t forget that.”

            “Well shit,” Ryan said, his face coloring slightly.  “You have a way of making me feel ten feet tall.”

            He leaned forward and touched his glass to Raph’s.  They finished their drinks at the same time and Ryan asked, “Another round?”

            Raph glanced up at the clock and was surprised to see that it was after two in the morning.  “I guess not,” he said reluctantly.  “Speaking of family, mine will carp on me for coming in so late.”  With a snort, he added, “Then they’ll try ta take advantage of my lack of sleep during morning practice.”

            As Ryan started to clean up he said, “I don’t imagine they’re very successful at that.”

            Raph chuckled.  “Not too often, no.”

            He pitched in to help and they had the food court kitchen clean in no time.  Ryan gathered up his tools and Raph helped carry them out to the van while his friend turned out the lights and closed the place up for the night.

            Raph waited by the van as Ryan set the alarm and locked the delivery door.  Ryan glanced up at the sky as he walked down the short set of steps and came to stand next to the turtle.

            “I’d say from the looks of things that we’re going to have nice weather right on into the weekend,” Ryan said.  “You still up for fishing?”

            “Looking forward to it,” Raph said enthusiastically.

            “Here.”  Ryan pulled a folded card from his jean’s pocket and handed it to Raph.  “This is the info on where the boat is docked.  Can you meet me there at four-thirty in the morning?”

            Raph looked at the directions and nodded.  “Sure.  Don’t forget that I’m bringing the beer this time.”

            “Hey, is that your ride?” Ryan asked, spotting Raph’s motorcycle for the first time.

            “Yep, she’s mine,” Raph said proudly, walking over and taking his jacket off the seat.  “My brother Don built her for me as a surprise, but I keep her tuned up and purring like a big cat.”

            “What I wouldn’t give to have a beauty like this,” Ryan said appreciatively, running his hand lightly over the frame.

            The way he was touching the motorcycle was enticing and suddenly Raph felt like he’d never seen anything so erotic in his whole life.  Swallowing heavily, he pulled on his jacket and tried to ignore the stiffening of his tail.

            “We’ll have ta go for a ride sometime,” Raph said.  “I know some roads outside of the city where ya’ can really open her up.”

            “I’m so up for that you have no idea,” Ryan said, his dark eyes glittering.

            “Adventure man,” Raph said, his voice husky.

            The pair stared at each other, the air between them charged with sudden electricity.  Very slowly they drew closer until they were only inches apart.

            There was a distinct fluttering in Raph’s belly that turned to warm embers as he and Ryan leaned forward simultaneously.  When their lips touched, the embers  grew into a fire that raced straight into Raph’s groin.

            Before he could reach out to hold the man, Ryan stepped back.  His tongue came out to flick across his lips and Raph watched it, wanting nothing more than kiss Ryan again so that he could taste that tongue.

            “Sorry,” Ryan said, clearing his throat.  “You probably don’t want that from me.”

            Raph’s mouth curved into a wistful smile.  “I liked it, Ryan.  Kinda been thinking about ya’ that way for a few days.”

            “Really?” Ryan asked, his expression hopeful.  “I . . . I’ve been thinking about you too.”

            His face and neck had the flushed look that Raph found so appealing and it took all of his willpower not to jump the man right there.  “Maybe we’ll just keep going slow,” Raph said, determined not to screw things up by acting rashly.  “Seems ta be working for us.”

            “Okay,” Ryan agreed with a nod.  “I like that.  Until Saturday?”

            He lifted his hand to Raph who clasped it warmly.  “Until Saturday.”

            Once more they broke contact by mutual silent consent and Raph watched Ryan get into his van and start it up.  Mounting his motorcycle, Raph slid his helmet on and brought the engine to life.

            Before they pulled out of the parking lot, the pair looked at one another.  Then Ryan lifted his hand and Raph responded in kind.

            Raph kept his eyes glued to Ryan’s van until it was out of sight.  With a sigh of pure happiness, Raph headed for home.

TBC…………………


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Word Count: 4,400 multi-chapter 2k3 verse  
> Summary: Raphael has a secret admirer - or two.  
> Rating p18: R  
> Pairing: Casey/Raph/Casey, Bishop/Raph/Bishop, Ryan/Raph/Ryan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Preview image created by the ever witty Dragona15 on deviantArt and is titled "Torn Between Two Hunkies" or more appropriately "More Like Smothered by Two" XD  
> 

            Raph was still happy when he woke up the next morning.  Though he’d only lightly kissed Ryan, he was more satisfied by that than he’d been with any of his previous experiences with either Bishop or Casey.

            The difference was clear; Ryan enjoyed his company and wanted to get to know him.  Not the Raph who was a mutated ninja turtle or a guy that could kick Purple Dragon’s butts, but the important things about him, like his hopes, dreams and who he really was deep down.

            When Raph talked it was obvious that Ryan was actually listening.  Just from the pair of conversations they’d had Raph could tell there was a lot the two of them had in common.  Ryan enjoyed life to the fullest extent possible and had a sense of adventure that mimicked Raph’s own.

            As far as Raph was concerned, the kiss he’d shared with Ryan changed their night out to a date and it was by far the best one the young turtle had ever experienced.  Raph had never considered himself to be a romantic and if anyone were to suggest such a thing he’d make sure they were wearing their mouth backwards after they said it.  In reality though, that’s exactly what Raph was.

            He was an idealist, a dreamer with a vision of the world as a better place for everyone, including mutants.  Raph was passionate, adventurous, and had a deep love for his family.  Though he never set out to be a hero when he and his brothers patrolled, that was what he often was, not that Raph would ever describe himself as such.

            Sex wasn’t romance and that’s where Raph had gone off course with Bishop and Casey.  The notes that Bishop had left for him were more than mere poems, they were words that touched the core of Raphael’s being; they were the essence of his sentimentality.  That’s why they had spoken to him so strongly.

            Those notes evoked a vision and a promise that was more than rough sex in a dirty abandoned building or amongst the remains of cold, stale pizza.  What Raph wanted was the normalcy of a real relationship, where he and his partner were equals.

            That definition excluded Bishop, even though his words both written and verbal exhibited a strong sense of romance.  It was possible those sentiments were genuine but the fact was that Raph would never trust the man.

            Raph’s true desire removed Casey Jones from the running as well.  His best friend was rough and crude, a vicious brawler with a deeply ingrained moral code.  Raph could and would trust Casey with his life but not with his heart.  Feelings were an integral part of Raph’s make-up and Casey didn’t have a romantic bone in his body.

            Whether this thing with Ryan progressed to a favorable conclusion or not, Raph decided that he was going to break it off with Bishop and Casey.  If that pissed Bishop off so be it, the man had been an enemy before so Raph adding a little fuel to the fire wasn’t going to change anything drastically.

            Extricating himself from a physical relationship with Casey was going to be trickier, despite his assurances to Donatello to the contrary.  Casey had both ego and a certain volatility which meant that Raph was going to have to let him down easy.  Above all else, he couldn’t let on that there was anyone other than Casey in his life because Raph had already experienced one exhibition of Casey’s jealousy.

            Raph didn’t want to forever have to hide that from his best friend either.  Since Ryan was also friends with Casey the likelihood that something would slip out was high.  At some point Raph was going to have to tell Casey that he was dating Ryan and he’d have to tell Ryan about experimenting with Casey.

            None of that erased the good mood that Raph was in as he ate some breakfast and then reported for practice.  Even the knowledge that Michelangelo continued to be a thorn in his side couldn’t diminish Raph’s spirits.

            Donatello had shot a concerned look in Raph’s direction as soon as he’d seen him that morning.  The serene expression on Raph’s face seemed to relieve Don’s worry and the genius’ mood brightened as well.  No doubt he believed that Raph had resolved his situation with Casey amicably during his night out.

            Since he was going to do exactly that, Raph decided not to disabuse Don of that notion.  He’d tell his smart brother about Ryan at some point, but only after he could assure Don that Casey was out of the picture in that regard.

            All of those thoughts were shut off as soon as practice began.  Master Splinter could always tell when one of them was distracted and Raph found that he enjoyed being in his father’s good graces too much to annoy him now.

            Everything went well until Master Splinter announced that he wanted them to spend the last half of practice sparring.  To Raph’s surprise, his father partnered him with Mikey.

            Maybe that shouldn’t have come as such a shock after all.  Master Splinter did not like to see any of his sons at odds with one another for an extended length of time.  Having Raph and Mikey face off would tell their sensei everything he needed to know about how bad their falling out had been.

            Bouncing on his toes, Mikey danced towards Raph and then back, his fists lifted waist high.  Raph kept his knees slightly bent, hands up and eyes wary.  He didn’t move continuously the way that Mikey did, that was the youngest turtle’s personal style and befitted his energetic personality.

            Raph suddenly moved forward, trying a side kick in the hopes of engaging Mikey quickly.  His brother circled away from it, bringing a hand down on Raph’s ankle to bat his leg away.

            “As usual you’re too slow, Raphie,” Mikey taunted.

            “You’re supposed ta be sparring not running away,” Raph retorted.

            “My technique got you all confused?”  Mikey asked rhetorically, darting forward to throw a series of jabs that Raph was forced to block.

            Tired of being on the defensive, Raph performed a swift front snap kick that shoved Mikey away.  As his younger brother straightened, Raph came at him with a jab that didn’t connect as Mikey pulled his head back.  Spinning away from the hard punch, Mikey aimed a back kick at Raph’s jaw, but the older turtle caught it on his forearm and forced Mikey off balance.

            Rather than try to stay on his feet, Mikey dropped onto his shoulder and rolled out of Raph’s way.  Jumping up swiftly, Mikey grinned at his brother.

            Refusing to be baited by Mikey’s antics, Raph asked, “Is that what ya’ call a technique?  That was damn sloppy bro’.  Ain’t ya’ learning anything from all that extra training?”

            The pair exchanged a flurry of hand strikes with neither scoring off the other.  Mikey managed to catch Raph and throw him but the larger turtle countered with a scissor kick that knocked Mikey’s legs from under him.

            Both were on their feet in a millisecond, warily pacing each other.  Leo and Don kneeled off to one side, watching the match and Raph wondered if they could feel the difference in Mikey’s attitude the way that he could.  Mikey’s usual light hearted banter was missing, his expression calculating.

            “Ya’ got something ya’ want ta get off your chest?” Raph asked.  “Go ahead and say it.  I never knew ya’ ta hold back before.”

            Mikey suddenly rushed him, jumping into the air with both feet aimed at Raph’s face.  Raph dodged him and as Mikey landed, the youngest swung a back fist that caught Raph a glancing blow.  Raph countered with an uppercut that sent Mikey skipping backwards.

            Rubbing his chin Mikey said, “That must be the punch you use on little old ladies.  It tickles.”

            “Tell that ta the bruise I just gave ya’,” Raph said.  “What’s your damage, Mikey?”

            Mikey’s eyes narrowed and he slid sideways, his hands up as he looked for an opening.  “Where’d you go last night?”

            “Again with the questions?  Ain’t ya’ learned your lesson yet?”  Raph asked.

            They came at each other again, both managing to score hits but neither doing any real harm.

            When they separated this time, Raph said, “Where I went ain’t any of your business.”

            “I know where you didn’t go,” Mikey said, a gleam in his eyes.  “You didn’t go out with Casey.”

            A finger of dread ran up Raph’s spine and he realized he should drop the subject or at least not respond.  Master Splinter stood in one corner observing them and Raph knew he could hear every word.  Mikey knew it too and it was obvious he was pushing an agenda.

            Maybe if it became clear that Mikey was going against Master Splinter’s directives again their father would intercede and once more take the youngest to task for his meddling.

            “How exactly do ya’ know that?” Raph asked.  “Ya’ been snooping in my room again?”

            “Nope,” Mikey said, taking a swing at Raph and following it with a side kick.

            Raph blocked both of them before noticing the look of triumph on Mikey’s face.  It was then Raph understood he’d stepped in it.

            “I know ‘cause I called Casey and asked for you,” Mikey said, his grin blossoming to its fullest.

            The good mood that Raph had started the day with went straight into the crapper.  His first thought was _“oh shit, now Casey’s gonna want ta know where I went”_.  From the corner of his eye he saw Don frown, his expression shifting from concern to hurt.  That prompted the second thought that the genius was going to want to know why Raph lied to him.

            “Casey sure didn’t sound very happy when I said that no one knew where you were,” Mikey added snidely, rubbing it in.

            Sudden pressure started to build in Raph’s head, traveling through his body and making his muscles clench.  Mikey just couldn’t leave things alone, he had to poke and pry and cause Raph as much grief as possible.

            Now Mikey was standing there with a smug look on his face knowing that he was responsible for creating a problem between Raph and his best friend.  Mikey didn’t know why Casey was so upset to find out that Raph had gone off by himself but it was clear that pissing off Casey at Raph’s expense gave the youngest turtle a great deal of joy.

            Raph snapped.  With a great bound forward he grappled with Mikey, their hands connecting and muscles straining as they pushed each other.  Mikey tried to hook his leg behind Raph’s but the older turtle expected it and countered, almost twisting Mikey off balance as he did so.

            The smile was gone from Mikey’s face as he realized that Raph was slowly shoving him back.  After attempting several maneuvers in an attempt to get the upper hand, Mikey changed tactics, releasing Raph’s hands and back flipping away from him.

            Mikey’s hands touched down but before he could push off Raph barreled into him, not bothering with finesse as he wrapped an arm around his younger brothers calves and spun him.  Raph let go suddenly and Mikey went flying, landing on his plastron a few feet away.

            Before Mikey could get all the way up again, Raph pounced on him, driving Mikey back down on the mat and knocking the air out of him.  Raph caught one of Mikey’s arms, wrenching it up behind his carapace.  His other hand came down on the side of Mikey’s head and Raph pressed Mikey’s face into the floor.

            It was then that Raphael managed to do something he’d rarely ever done during a fit of rage; he talked himself down.

            One, he was trying to prove to Master Splinter that he could control his emotional outbursts.  Two, overreacting to what Mikey had said would raise unwanted questions.  Three, beating the snot out of his brother would only validate Mikey’s suspicions.  Four, Raph did not want to be grounded and miss his Saturday fishing date with Ryan.

            Taking a deep breath, Raph released the boiling anger that had been threatening to overflow.  From the corner of his eye he could see that Leo and Don were on their feet, no doubt preparing to intervene.

            In a calm but firm voice, Raph said, “Yield, Mikey.”

            Mikey struggled against Raph’s hold, but with his head down and one arm painfully immobile, he didn’t have much wiggle room.  “Uh, uh,” Mikey muttered, his voice muffled by the mat his mouth was being pressed into.

            Pulling up slightly on Mikey’s trapped arm, Raph dug his knee into the lower part of Mikey’s carapace thus pinching his tail.

            With a yelp, Mikey tapped the floor with his free hand, shouting, “Ow, ow, ow I give!”

            Raph released his brother and jumped to his feet, backing away as Mikey slowly got up.  As Mikey shot a dirty look in Raph’s direction, Master Splinter walked towards the pair and they both bowed.

            “Michelangelo I am afraid your technique requires some work.  You cannot continue to depend on words to take the place of skill.  While taunting your opponent may sometimes make them angry enough to be careless, other times it will only serve to focus their animus,” Master Splinter told his youngest son.

            “Yes sensei,” Mikey replied, having the decency to look chagrined.

            Turning to Raphael, Master Splinter said, “Raphael you are still relying overly much on brute force but I am most pleased with how well you are mastering your emotions.  I would like to see you continue to redirect your anger in ways that provide you with an advantage over your opponent.”

            “Thank you sensei,” Raph said.

            “Aren’t you going to ask him where he went last night?” Mikey blurted out, unable to leave well enough alone.  “If Raph’s not running around with Casey then nobody knows where he’s been going.”

            Master Splinter directed his attention back towards Mikey, staring hard at the young turtle until Mikey began to fidget.  “I know where he went, Michelangelo.  Your brother has been following my rules to the letter, which is apparently more than I can say for you.”

            “I was just worried about him,” Mikey said quickly, trying to cover his gaff.  “Leo didn’t know where he was either.”

            “Yes I did, Mikey,” Leo said, stepping forward.  “Master Splinter told me that Raph was going out.”

            “Did he tell you where?” Mikey asked avidly, unaware that he was digging his hole deeper.

            “No I did not,” Master Splinter said before Leo could speak.  “That was between Raphael and myself.  Just as I do not share what you tell me in confidence, I do not feel the need to broadcast his business.  It seems that additional discussion on this subject is required, Michelangelo.  Perhaps during the next two hours you can explain to me why you have an overwhelming need to involve yourself in Raphael’s affairs.”

            “Yes sensei,” Mikey muttered, staring at the floor.

            Master Splinter glanced at his other sons.  “You are dismissed.  Raphael, when we meet for your extra hour of training, please be prepared to work on your scissor kicks.”

            The three older turtles bowed respectfully and exited the dojo, leaving Mikey to his fate.  Once they were away from their father, Don turned towards his lab without a word.  As Raph started after him, Leo stepped into his path and blocked him off.

            “Master Splinter did tell me you had plans,” Leo said, “but not what they were.  I assumed you were going to hang out with Casey as usual.”

            It wasn’t actually a question, but the implication was there.  “See, now that’s what comes of making assumptions,” Raph said complacently, somewhat calm after seeing Master Splinter take Mikey to task again.  “Ya’ make an ass of yourself.”

            Leo’s jaw clenched, but it was the only sign that he was irked.  “Where did you go?  You know it isn’t safe to be topside alone.”

            Raph snorted.  “If it wasn’t safe then Master Splinter wouldn’t have told me I could go out,” he said.  “I hope Mikey ain’t rubbing off on ya’ bro’; it’s bad enough that sensei has ta discipline one son for being nosy.  It’d be a shame if he had ta correct the teacher’s pet too.”

            He walked away from Leo after delivering that line, knowing the quandary he was leaving his older brother in.  Leo worked hard to be the perfect son and the type of leader his father expected he’d be, but Leo also thought it was his duty to know what his brothers were doing at all times.

            As Raph approached the lab door, he could hear the sound of Don’s hole saw and knew the genius was agitated; his brother usually worked on mechanical projects when he was uneasy.

            Pushing the door open, Raph watched Don spin a deburring tool around the inside of the hole he’d just cut into a metal rod.  Closing the door with a soft click, Raph took his time crossing over to the work table where Don was sitting, giving his brother a minute to mentally prepare for their conversation.

            “You didn’t talk to Casey last night,” Don stated without looking up.

            Raph scratched the back of his neck sheepishly.  “No I didn’t,” he admitted.  “I’m sorry I let ya’ think that’s what I was going out ta do.”

            Don shrugged, continuing to work as he said, “It’s no more my business than Mikey’s.”

            His words made Raph feel even worse than he already did.  “That’s why you’re trying ta act like ya’ ain’t upset when I can tell that ya’ are,” he said.  “Ya’ played fair with me Donny and I owe ya’ for that.  Last night I was with Ryan Bridge.”

            Don looked up quickly.  “Angel’s brother?” he asked sharply.

            “Yeah.”  Raph leaned back against the table and crossed his arms over his plastron.  “It was sort of a date.”

            “What does ‘sort of’ mean?” Don asked.

            “We were just gonna hang out ya’ know?  Get ta know each other.  He was doing some night work at one of those race cart tracks and I helped, then we tried out the track and had a couple of burgers.  Two guys kicking back, having some fun.  Then something . . . changed.  He likes men; always has.  We seem to fit.  I ain’t ever felt like this about anyone, Donny.  I want ta spend more time with him, really get ta know who he is before we do anything else.  I’m gonna talk to Casey but I just haven’t had the chance,” Raph explained.

            “You’d better make the opportunity to do so sooner than later,” Don said.

            “I will,” Raph promised.  “Do me a favor bro’ and please don’t tell Casey about Ryan ‘cause Casey has a mean jealous streak.”

            Don laughed humorlessly.  “Don’t you think I know that?  Why do you think that April hasn’t talked to Casey about us yet?  I’m not going to say anything to anyone about this, I already promised you that, but Mikey’s made Casey suspicious.  You can’t put off talking to him for too long.”

            “I guess I’d better do it tonight,” Raph said thoughtfully.

            Don shook his head.  “Leo already has plans for us to go on a training run.  You could ask Casey to meet you here tomorrow, but I’m guessing you’d rather do this at his apartment so no one else finds out what’s been happening.”

            “That’s for sure,” Raph said, rubbing his hand over his face.  “When the hell did this get ta be so complicated?”

            “We could have remained celibate for our entire lives,” Don said with a grin.

            “No thanks.”  Raph waved the suggestion away.  “Being a monk is better suited ta Leo’s personality.”

            “And the only thing Mikey loves is his reflection in a mirror,” Don added.

            Laughing, Raph made his exit, leaving his brother to whichever of a thousand projects was holding his attention.  On his way to the kitchen to grab the vacuum cleaner and take care of a few chores, Raph thought about calling Casey to find out how much damage Mikey had done.  As soon as he had the idea Raph nixed it.  This wasn’t something you did over the phone and he didn’t want to start a discussion with Casey that he couldn’t finish.

            Raph spent the remainder of the day going about his business and trying not to think about his current dilemma.  Since his shell cell didn’t ring, Raph began to hope that maybe Casey wasn’t perturbed about his absence.  During their last conversation Casey hadn’t sounded too concerned about when he might see Raph again so maybe the man was blowing off the idea of being with the turtle.

            A couple of hours after dinner Raph rose from his hammock, stretched, and grabbed his sai.  As he was placing a few things into his belt before heading down to meet his brothers, Raph’s shell cell rang.

            Quickly switching it over to vibrate mode, Raph glanced at the screen and saw that the caller was Casey.  Of course the man hadn’t called earlier; he was waiting for nightfall.

            Raph’s thumb hovered over the answer button but he didn’t touch it, allowing the call to go to voice mail.  He certainly didn’t have time to talk now and didn’t know what kind of night he and his brothers were going to have so he couldn’t promise to meet Casey later either.

            Just as Raph was reaching for his door knob, the phone which was still in his hand vibrated.  When he looked at it, Raph saw that Casey had sent him a text message.

_“Where the fuck r u?  U dodging me?”_

            The tone of that message infuriated Raph, who started to reply but stopped himself when he realized he didn’t have time for texting either.  Casey would just have to wait.  Raph decided that was an appropriate punishment for how the man had treated him the morning after they’d had sex.

            Leo’s idea of a training run was to have his brothers all try to find him before he got to them.  He always claimed that he was teaching them to work together but Raph had a sneaking suspicion that Leo enjoyed stroking his own ego.  If there was one thing Leo was better at than any of them it was hiding and attacking from ambush.

            During one point as the brothers were stalking Leo, Don’s shell cell rang.  Their quarry broke cover and was gone in a flash, leaving his brothers standing there.  With an apologetic look, Don turned off his phone after checking to see who’d called.

            “Let me guess, April?” Raph asked, watching Mikey jump across to the next roof top.

            “Yeah,” Don said.  “I’ll call her back when we get home.”

            That was the closest they got to bagging Leo.  After having his shell handed to him a half dozen times, Raph was more than ready to call it a night.  Someday he was going to make good on his threat and _really_ attack Leo when his brother asked for it.

            Of course it didn’t help much that Mikey was determined to sabotage every effort that Raph and Don made to catch Leo.  The youngest turtle was less inclined to successfully execute his own assigned tasks than he was in not allowing Raph the satisfaction of doing so.  That coupled with the message from Casey earlier succeeded in aggravating Raph completely.

            Before they were allowed to go home, Leo felt the need to lecture his brothers about how badly they had performed.  Donatello, being nearly as annoyed as Raph was at Mikey’s behavior, suggested that Leo and Mikey must have been working in cahoots and that meant that Leo wasn’t playing fair with them.

            Raph enjoyed the expression on Leo’s face when Don said his piece.  Big bro’ knew darn well that Mikey was responsible for their poor showing but Leo was peeved with Raph and had secretly liked Mikey’s antics.  But as Raph had pointed out, Leo was not doing Mikey any favors by letting him get away with shit.  Having Donatello say pretty much the same thing brought a flush to Leo’s cheeks.

            Since it was obvious that their team unity was lacking, Leo led his brothers back home.  The morning after a patrol or training run Leo always met with his father to tell him how things had gone.  Raph decided that he’d love to be a fly on the wall the following day just to hear how Leo explained tonight’s fiasco.

            Walking through the door of the lair, Mikey announced, “Time to beat the next level of Battle Ravage!”

            He bounded across to the television array and snatched up the game controller. 

            “You’d better keep it down, Master Splinter’s already in bed,” Leo warned.  Glancing at Don and Raph, he said, “I’m going to sleep too.  It’s been a long night.”

            There was a half question in his words and Raph rolled his eyes.  “I’m gonna get a snack and turn in myself.  That way ya’ don’t have ta lie awake wondering where I am.”

            Leo shook his head but didn’t bother with a retort, instead heading for the stairs.

            “It’s pretty late but I guess I’d better return April’s call,” Don said.  “I hope everything’s okay; she doesn’t usually try to call when she knows we’re out for the night.”

            The words were barely out of his mouth when the doors to the garage elevator slid open.  Surprised, Don and Raph turned towards the door and Leo stopped halfway up the staircase.

            Casey came barreling into the lair, his eyes wild and his teeth clenched in anger.  Both of his hands were curled into tight fists as he looked around, finally spotting Raph standing across the room.

            “What the shell?” Raph exclaimed as Casey broke into a dead run straight towards him.

            Bracing himself, Raph lifted his hands to fend off Casey’s attack.  At the last second though, Casey flew past him, ignoring the red banded turtle in favor of a different target.

            Without any warning, Casey slammed into Donatello and both of them hit the floor.

TBC……………….


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Word Count: 6,174 multi-chapter 2k3 verse  
> Summary: Raphael has a secret admirer - or two.  
> Rating p19: R  
> Pairing: Casey/Raph/Casey, Bishop/Raph/Bishop, Ryan/Raph/Ryan

            “Casey!” Raph shouted when he saw the man tackle Don.

            “Ya’ cheating . . . .” Casey snarled, aiming a fist at Don’s face.

            Don blocked his punch, shoving Casey’s hand aside and throwing the furious man off of him.  Casey rolled onto his shoulder and came up in a crouch, charging at Don almost immediately.  Don flipped onto his feet, using his forearm to catch a blow meant for his head and slipped out of Casey’s attempt to grapple with him.

            “Back off, Casey,” Don warned.  “I don’t want to hurt you.”

            “You’re the one who’s gonna get hurt ya’ prick!” Casey yelled, yanking a bat out of his bag of weapons.

            “Cut it out!” Raph snapped, pouncing on Casey’s back and pinning his arms.

            The man struggled in Raph’s hold but before he could pull free, both Mikey and Leo were there.  Mikey snagged the bat out of Casey’s hand and Leo pressed his palm against Casey’s chest, pushing him away from Don.

            “What is the meaning of this?” Master Splinter demanded, stepping out of his room and taking in the chaotic scene in front of him.  “Casey Jones, control yourself at once.”

            “I’m gonna rip your head off and shit down your throat!” Casey shouted, ignoring everyone except Donatello.

            “Dammit Casey!”  Raph spun him around so that Casey couldn’t see Don and then forced him away.  When Casey turned back again, Raph pushed himself up against the man, placing his face directly in Casey’s line of sight.  “What the hell are ya’ doing?”

            “He’s been cheating with April,” Casey said, loudly enough for everyone to hear him.  “That bastard has been fucking her!”

            Raph heard the sharp intakes of breath and half worded exclamations behind him, but ignored his brothers in favor of trying to calm Casey down.

            “Why does that even matter?”  Raph gripped Casey’s biceps and shook him.  “The two of ya’ are only friends now, remember?  Ya’ broke up with her.”

            “Ya’ don’t do that ta another guy,” Casey said.  “It’s the code.  Ya’ don’t steal a girl out from under a friend!”

            “I didn’t steal anyone,” Don proclaimed in an angry voice.  “I knew April long before you ever met her.”

            “Ya’ wasn’t anything ta her but a freak!” Casey roared.  “She didn’t want ya’ that way, she wanted me!”

            “That is enough!”  Master Splinter walked towards Casey, his expression thunderous.  “You will not come into my home using those types of epithets.”

            “Is that all ya’ see when ya’ look at us, Case?” Raph asked, staring into his friend’s eyes and forcing Casey’s attention back to him.  “Is that what I am?  A fucking freak?”

            The look of fury on Casey’s face didn’t falter.  “I’m not talking about ya’ Raph, I’m talking about that walking dictionary over there.  He ain’t normal and he ain’t right.”

            “Because he and April finally figured out how much they care about each other?” Raph asked.  “If ya’ don’t want ta be with her anymore, ain’t she got a right ta choose ta be with someone else?  It shouldn’t matter who that someone is and ya’ ought ta be happy for her.”

            “I ought ta be happy?  Really?  Ya’ been ignoring my calls,” Casey said abruptly, his upper lip curling back from his teeth.  “Why is that Raph?  Ya’ got someone else too?  Is that how it works, ya’ fuck and run?  Donatello teach ya’ that trick?”

            “Raphael.”  It was Leo’s voice, low and dark.  “What is he saying?”

            Raph could feel the swell of anger bubbling up like acid from his gut.  This was not the way he wanted his family to find out about him and Casey.  His actual choice was that no one but Don would ever know about it, but he should have realized an angry and jealous Casey Jones wouldn’t be able to keep his fat mouth shut.

            “We’re going outside,” Raph growled, his grip tightening on one of Casey’s arms as he yanked him towards the elevator.

            “I ain’t done!” Casey yelled, looking over his shoulder at Don.

            “Yeah ya’ sure the fuck are,” Raph announced irately.  “You’re damn well finished.”

            Casey tried pulling away from Raph, but the pissed off turtle used his free hand to grab Casey’s bag and tug on it hard.  The strap caught the side of Casey’s throat and half choked him.  He was coughing and twisting his head as the elevator door slid open and Raph dragged him inside.

            The last thing Raph saw before the door closed was Leo standing protectively in front of Don, a look of shock on his face as he stared at Raph.

            “Just fucking great,” Raph muttered.  He released Casey, giving him a rough shove as the elevator began its ascent.

            Neither said a word during the short ride.  Raph was seething but Casey seemed to have suddenly snapped to what he’d just done.  His head was down, hair shielding his face so that Raph couldn’t see it.

            When the door opened, Raph planted a palm in the center of Casey’s back and pushed.  Getting the message, the man stomped into the garage, dropping his bag onto the floor as Raph stepped out of the elevator.

            “Mikey called me and said they didn’t know where ya’ were,” Casey spluttered, his eyes still half wild.  “He said ya’ been doing that for a while, just disappearing.  He said ya’ been getting notes from someone.”

            “Goddamn Mikey,” Raph hissed.

            “Where ya’ been going, Raph?  I wanna know.  When Mikey told me all that shit I tried ta call ya’ about it but ya’ didn’t answer and I got pissed.  I went over ta April’s ta see if she knew what ya’ were doing and we ended up getting in a fucking fight,” Casey said heatedly.

            “Oh shit,” Raph said, rubbing at his forehead where he felt the beginnings of a headache.  “Let me guess, ya’ made her mad enough ta blurt out that she’s been seeing Donny?”

            Casey’s face darkened.  “She sure the fuck did.  If she hadn’t told me the four of ya’ were out I would have been here sooner ta teach that smart prick a lesson.”

            “Shut up!” Raph snapped.  “Ya’ ain’t gonna teach Don nothing, ya’ got that?  Let it go right the fuck now!  Ya’ ain’t got any right ta dictate how April lives her life and ya’ sure ain’t got any right ta act like Donny ain’t good enough for her.”

            “What the hell is she gonna do with him?” Casey asked.  “He’s a goddamn tur . . . .”

            His mouth snapped shut as soon as he saw the look on Raph’s face.  In a low, deliberate voice, Raph said, “Turtle.  Right Casey?  He’s a turtle, just like me.  Ya’ got a problem with that?”

            “I already told ya’ I don’t,” Casey protested.  “I’m just steamed is all.  I don’t know where ya’ been going and then I find out this shit about Don and April.”

            “It don’t matter where I’ve been going or what I’ve been doing,” Raph said.  “Ya’ know damn well I don’t like anyone trying ta run my life for me, I get enough of that crap from Leo.  When we agreed ta give this sex stuff a try, we said it wasn’t gonna change our friendship.  Ya’ ain’t stopped acting like a first rate asshole since then.”

            Startled enough to forget about his rage for a moment, Casey frowned at Raph.  “How have I been an asshole?  You’re the one avoiding me.”

            “I was avoiding ya’ because ya’ blew me off the morning after ya’ fucked me,” Raph barked at him.  “Ya’ didn’t ask how I was when I called and all ya’ thought about was your stupid boner.  Fuck Casey, ya’ knew damn well I was a virgin and ya’ still treated me like shit.”

            “So~ _rry_ ,” Casey said, his tone almost mocking.  “Maybe I should’ve woke ya’ up with wine and roses.”

            “Maybe ya’ should have,” Raph bit back.  “Maybe ya’ don’t know me as well as ya’ think ya’ do.  That first night before we had ta run off and save Angel ya’ cooked for me and cleaned your place up.  Why’d ya’ do that?”

            Casey shrugged.  “Oh hell, I guess I wanted ya’ ta know I thought ya’ deserved a little extra effort on my part.”

            “Yeah, well I liked it,” Raph said.  “I didn’t expect that from ya’ and wouldn’t have expected it from ya’ all the time, but it was good ta think ya’ meant it as a way of saying we were something more than a couple of fuck buddies.”

            “That wasn’t what I thought!” Casey declared hotly.  “I don’t fucking do romance, okay?  That shit is why me and April couldn’t make it.  She wanted someone refined and I wasn’t gonna change for her and I ain’t gonna change for you either.”

            “Good, ‘cause I don’t want ya’ to,” Raph said.  “Maybe I ain’t got a lot of choices but I’ll be damned if I’ll settle for less than something that makes me feel like I got it right.  We said that if this shit got weird for either of us we’d skip it and go back ta being friends.  That’s what I want.  I want ta write off that night as an experiment that didn’t work out so we can put things back the way they used ta be.”

            Casey went silent for a moment, his mouth twitching as he stared at Raph.  “I fucked up,” he said in a low voice.

            Raph grimaced.  “Don’t start with the apologizing.  Ya’ are who ya’ are.  Here’s what I think, Case.  I think ya’ started this stuff with me ‘cause ya’ didn’t wanna be alone and ya’ got scared that I might find someone.  I wasn’t even thinking about that shit but your head was so full of your own problems ya’ projected them onto me.

            “Okay, no regrets.”  Raph waved at the outer door and said, “The fact is ya’ can walk out there day or night without worrying about who might see ya’.  If ya’ want a drink ya’ can stroll into a sports bar, order one, and shoot the shit with the bartender.  Ya’ got a job where ya’ meet lots of people.  Somewhere in there when you’re interacting with all those folks you’ll run across one that clicks with your personality and neither of ya’ will have ta change for the other.”

            “It ain’t that easy,” Casey said.

            “I never said it was; all I said is that ya’ could do it,” Raph told him.  “I can’t.  Just because I can’t don’t mean I’m gonna grasp at straws and put up with being treated different from the way I want ta be treated.  I’d rather have no one than compromise what I want.”

            Casey was breathing hard as though fighting his own emotions.  “How am I gonna meet someone when I got so many fucking secrets?”

            “The same way I hope ta meet someone someday,” Raph said.  “Take the time ta build up trust, learn everything ya’ can about them, and don’t jump into another relationship until ya’ figure out exactly what ya’ want out of one.  Ya’ still got me, Case.  Just ‘cause I don’t want ta do this lover crap anymore don’t mean you’re gonna lose my friendship.  I’ll stand by ya’ always, ya’ gotta know that by now.”

            “Shit,” Casey said with feeling.  “Shit, shit, shit.  My head feels all kinds of fucked up right now.  I made a deal with ya’ and I’m gonna stick to it even if I still think we could’ve been good together.  I’ll bet Master Splinter ain’t gonna want ta see my face ever again.”

            “He’ll get over it,” Raph said.  “He already knows you’re a wack job.  Ya’ better figure out how ta deal with the Donny and April thing ‘cause my guess is they’re pretty damn solid.  Don’s always been in love with her but he kept his mouth shut and backed off when ya’ came into the picture, just so ya’ know.  He thought April needed ta be with a human and all he ever wanted was what was best for her.”

            “Was it that easy for her ta forget me and move on?” Casey asked, searching Raph’s eyes.

            The question helped Raph understand part of what was eating at Casey.  “No pal, it wasn’t,” he said.  “She hurt over it but April didn’t want ta tell anyone ‘cause she didn’t want us ta get upset with ya’.  Just so you’re clear, Don was the only one she said anything to and that was only ‘cause they’ve always been close.”

            “And then he made a move on her,” Casey said, his face darkening again.

            “Get that shit out of your head,” Raph said.  “Remember what I told ya’ about figuring out what ya’ want from a relationship?  April had time ta think after the two of ya’ broke it off, that’s all.  Don didn’t do anything but be there for her like the friend he’s always been.  It took her a while but she figured out that he had everything she wanted.  They talk the same fucking language.”

            Casey scratched his head, starting to look sheepish rather than angry.  “Whatever it is, I sure as hell don’t speak it.  We weren’t in the same room more than five minutes before we were yelling at each other.”

            “Ya’ got a lot going for ya’ Case,” Raph said to reassure him, “but a gal like April’s gotta have someone that understands all the brainy shit she’s into.  I know ya’ still care about her so wouldn’t ya’ worry if she took up with someone other than Donny?  Ya’ know damn well he’d die ta keep her safe, he’s already tried ta do that a couple of times.”

            Staring absently at the floor, Casey began to nod.  “It ain’t like me and her are gonna ever get back together.”

            “So what the shell have ya’ lost?” Raph asked.  “She’ll get over being pissed at ya’ and ya’ know Don don’t hold a grudge.  Sometime when this all calms down ya’ should probably apologize ta Master Splinter for calling Don a freak and maybe make nice with Leo and Mikey so they know they ain’t gonna have ta keep their eyes on ya’.”

            “I ain’t lost ya’ either, right?” Casey asked, looking up at Raph.

            Raph snorted a laugh.  “Nah.  I been doing a lot of running around by myself thinking about things and that wasn’t none of Mikey’s business, that’s why he never knew where I was.  Master Splinter always did though, why do ya’ think I ain’t been in trouble?  Ya’ really gotta get that jealous crap under control pal.  That stuff will eat ya’ alive and mess up anything ya’ try ta start with somebody.”

            “I suppose you’re right.”  Casey rubbed at his nose, his eyes slightly red.  “I think I . . . I think I need some sleep.”

            “I’d say so,” Raph agreed, his concern showing.  “Are we good Casey?  I been saying a lot but right now I really need ta hear the truth from ya’ on this.”

            Blinking rapidly, Casey bent down and recovered his bag.  “We’re good.  I’m heading home.  Guess I’ll stay away for a couple days until things kinda blow over.”

            Raph fought the urge to give his friend’s shoulder a reassuring squeeze, afraid that might convey the wrong message.  “We should meet up and find some Dragon ass ta kick,” he said instead.  “I got a feeling I’m gonna need ta blow off some steam.”

            The smile Casey offered him was wan but it was still there, a trace of his old cockiness appearing for Raph to see.  “I ain’t pounded any skulls in quite a while; I might get rusty if we don’t get to that pretty soon.”

            “You’re on,” Raph said, watching his friend walk to the outer door.

            Opening it, Casey stepped through and then turned back towards Raph.  “I meant what I said about how we get along and have stuff in common but I guess I got my feelings confused.  You’ve always been like a brother ta me, Raph.”

            “I feel the same Case,” Raph said.  “Take it easy.”

            “Ain’t no other way ta take it,” Casey said, grinning at Raph before walking out and closing the door behind him.

            Raph didn’t move after Casey left, his eyes on the door but his thoughts miles away.  All he could do now was to wait and see if he and Casey could return to the way they’d once been, or if the single physical interlude between them would forever taint their friendship.

            Casey was basically a pretty simple guy and as long as their situation ended amicably, they probably wouldn’t speak of it again.

            That left Raph with one more person to deal with and that was Bishop.  With Casey the worst that could happen was the loss of a friend.  Bishop was an entirely different story.

            Whatever assurances Bishop had uttered at the beginning mattered little because Raph hadn’t ever truly trusted the man.  That was the primary reason for extricating himself from the fling they were having.  It couldn’t even properly be termed a relationship because Bishop had manipulated things in every one of their encounters.

            The question Raph had to ask of himself was if Bishop would become vindictively angry at being dumped by a mutant who he’d once attempted to dissect?  Bishop had exhibited a great deal of disdain and scorn for the turtles in the past, along with a healthy dose of callousness.

            Then again, if Bishop did get hacked off, would it make any difference?  The Hamato family already had Bishop down in the arch enemy column and weren’t likely to relax their vigilance.  Perhaps there were other precautions they could take if they knew that Bishop was on a fresh rampage, but that didn’t necessarily mean Raph had to confess everything.  Raph could always claim that he’d seen Bishop’s goons in the tunnels and then let his brothers draw their own conclusions.

            The last thing Raph would ever do was pile more danger on top of what his family normally faced.  He fervently wished that he’d have walked away from those damn notes and never started any of this.

            Squaring his shoulders, Raph headed for the elevator.  He knew his family would be waiting for him and it was pointless to delay the encounter.  Raph would let the flow of the conversation dictate how much he admitted to them.

            As long as Bishop thought that Raph was still attracted to him then the man was not a danger.  If Raph didn’t need to bring him up just yet then he wouldn’t.  Maybe circumstances would work out so that he never had to tell anyone about his tryst with the Agent.

            When Raph entered the lair he saw that his family was gathered in the seating area, but none of the televisions was on.  Master Splinter was perched on his favorite chair and Don occupied the one directly across from him.  Mikey sprawled on the couch watching Leo pace to and fro.

            That alone set the tone for what Raph knew was going to be a painful confrontation.  Master Splinter’s eyes were closed and Don wore a pinched but stubborn expression on his face.  As Raph drew near, he spotted the look of avid epicaricacy on Mikey’s mug.

            Leo’s face was completely blank but Raph knew that wouldn’t last for long.  Stoicism was Leo’s patented stock in trade but he could never manage to maintain it for long when Raph was around.

            Before anyone else had a chance to speak, Raph stopped in front of Donatello and asked, “Are ya’ okay, Donny?”

            “Of course,” Don replied.  “He never landed a blow.”

            “That ain’t what I meant,” Raph said.

            Don pursed his lips and then said, “I still need to call April.  Should I warn her to avoid that lunatic?”

            Raph shook his head.  “He’ll be fine.  I doubt he’ll wanna talk ta her; he’s kind of embarrassed.”

            From the corner of his eye Raph could see that Leo had stopped pacing and was staring at him will ill-concealed impatience.  It was starting to look like Raph was going to set a record for busting open his brother’s emotionless mask.

            Don was no doubt aware of Leo hovering behind Raph but likewise ignored the eldest.  “How about you?  Is everything all right?” he asked.

            “Yeah, it’s done,” Raph answered.

            “What’s done, Raph?” Leo asked, unable to hold his tongue any longer.

            Raph counted to ten and then slowly turned.  “I’ll answer ta Master Splinter.”

            “You’ll answer . . . .” Leo began hotly but was cut off by his father.

            “Leonardo, I will handle this,” Master Splinter said.  When Leo nodded, their sensei continued.  “Raphael, while you were in the garage Donatello told us of his relationship with Ms. O’Neil.  I asked him why he felt the need to keep it a secret and he explained Ms. O’Neil’s rationale, which seems to have proven sound based on Mr. Jones’ behavior just now.  I must ask the same question of you; what has happened between you and Mr. Jones and why did you feel the need for secrecy?”

            Raph could have heard a pin drop in the silence that followed Master Splinter’s question.  Even Mikey was silent as he stared at Raph, awaiting a response he no doubt thought would justify all of his previous misconduct.

            “Casey told me he broke up with April because he prefers men,” Raph finally said, keeping his eyes directed at his father.

            “Casey’s gay?” Mikey exclaimed, practically bouncing off of the couch.  “No way dude, he’s too macho to be gay.”

            Raph glared at Mikey, though the look didn’t seem to faze him.  Master Splinter’s expression softened slightly as he studied his red banded son and Raph was suddenly thankful for Mikey’s outburst.

            “Please continue,” Master Splinter directed when Mikey quieted down.

            Since he was going to have to tell them sometime, Raph decided to get it over with.  “Yeah, Casey’s gay and so am I.”

            “That’s what you’ve been hiding!” Mikey chortled gleefully.  “I knew it, I knew it all along.  Didn’t I tell you Master Splinter?  He was keeping a secret and it’s a big one.”

            Master Splinter’s gaze shifted from Raph to Mikey, a frown of displeasure creasing his brow.  “How is Raphael’s disclosure a ‘big secret’, Michelangelo?” he asked in a deceptively mild tone.

            “’Cause he just admitted he’s a fa . . . .”  Mikey applied the brakes to his tongue as he suddenly recognized the warning signs from his father.  “’Cause we all figured Raph liked girls,” Mikey finished lamely.

            “Is there something wrong with your brother having a preference for men?” Master Splinter asked.

            The question was a clue to what Mikey’s answer needed to be and he was smart enough to take the high road when it was presented to him.  “No.  Nope.  Uh uh.  Whatever floats his boat.  I just wanna point out that I wasn’t completely wrong when I said something was going on that Raph didn’t want the family to know about.”

            Master Splinter watched him for a moment and Mikey offered him an ingratiating smile, choosing wisely to say nothing else.

            As much as Raph enjoyed watching Mikey squirm, he just wanted to get the inquisition over with.  “I didn’t say anything because Casey wasn’t ready ta come out about it,” he said.  “He’s my friend and I was respecting his privacy.”

            “You were acting as more than a friend though weren’t you?” Leo asked pointedly.  “It sounds to me as if that secret was self-serving.”

            “I don’t much care how it sounds to _you_ ,” Raph snapped.  “My sexual orientation ain’t any of your damn business.”

            “It is when you’re screwing your best friend,” Leo shot back.  “That’s something I need to know about.  When we go into a fight I don’t need to worry about anybody on my team playing favorites.”

            “Then that would apply to me as well,” Don interceded calmly.  “April doesn’t go on as many missions with us as Casey does, but she is there sometimes.  You didn’t mention that concern to me when I told you that she and I are lovers.”

            “Your situation is different,” Leo stated sharply.

            “No it’s not,” Don argued.  “Why are you giving Raph a hard time about this and giving me a pass?  I’m not going to be any more or less protective of April than I’ve ever been.  You sure as shell won’t have to worry about Raph and Casey; neither one of them is going to want to come off as the weak link in a fight.  They’ve still got more testosterone between them than an entire football team.”

            “It doesn’t matter anyway,” Raph broke in, turning to look at his father.  “Me and Casey experimented a little but it’s too awkward.  We agreed ta drop it if things got weird and they did.  We’re going back ta just being friends and that’s by mutual agreement.”

            Raph could see that Leo wanted to push the point, but Master Splinter said, “Leonardo, we will accept both of your brother’s assurances for the moment.  It is late and this has been a trying evening.  Please join me for tea in the morning and we will discuss this further.”

            Master Splinter got up and looked at Leo expectantly.  With a bow, Leo said, “Yes sensei.  Good night.”

            As he started for his room, Master Splinter glanced back and said, “Raphael, please walk with me.”

            Although it was possible that Master Splinter wanted to chastise him in private, Raph had a feeling that his father was actually doing him a favor by physically removing him the proverbial lion’s den.  Raph hoped that Don could extricate himself from the remaining two so that he could call April and then get some sleep.

            Upon entering his father’s room and closing the shoji behind him, Raph braced himself for what might come.  Master Splinter said nothing as he waved Raph towards the rug and once his son was kneeling, the aged rat kneeled down across from him.

            “As a parent,” Master Splinter began, “it is incumbent upon me to teach my children many lessons.  Some are minor while others might mean the difference between life and death.  Learning to resolve disputes falls somewhere between those two points and plays an important role in the maturation process.  It is a lesson that is best taught by simply not interfering unless absolutely necessary.”

            When he stopped speaking Raph understood that a response was expected of him.  “Like tonight when Casey came barreling in here.”

            “Yes, that instance is a good example, though my input was not required.  You did an excellent job of diffusing the situation my son,” Master Splinter said.

            “I didn’t do anything but drag him out of here,” Raph replied, though he felt a warm flush suffuse his cheeks at his father’s praise.

            “It was the most appropriate course of action and you took it,” Master Splinter told him.  “I am sure that whatever is left to be sorted out between you will likewise be handled with aplomb.”

            “We know what we gotta do,” Raph said.  “Things will be back ta normal after a little time has passed.”

            “Your assurances are gratifying,” Master Splinter said.  “There is still the matter of your dispute with Michelangelo and to a lesser degree, Leonardo.  I believe that when the first is dealt with, the second will fade.  Leonardo is being influenced by his brother’s excessive curiosity and since it is you that is at its center the natural clash of your personalities adds fuel to Leonardo’s misgivings.”

            “So you’re saying if I settle things with Mikey it’ll get Leo off my back too?” Raph asked.

            “To the extent possible with this particular chapter in your lives,” Master Splinter acknowledged.  “I am not saying that you should tell Michelangelo anything you feel is not his business.  Please understand that the punishments I handed down to him had nothing to do with his inability to prove his accusations against you; that was beside the point.  Michelangelo earned my displeasure because he broke a cardinal rule in this family – that of trust.  He could not be trusted to follow the mandates regarding personal privacy.”

            With a twinkle in his eyes, Master Splinter continued, “Although I too have been tempted at times to deal with Michelangelo much the way you did and simply tie and gag him, that is not the most effective way to handle your brother.  Michelangelo is quite immune to force and is actually motivated by it.  This is for your future reference.”

            “Thank you, sensei,” Raph said, seeing his father’s meaning.  It did seem as though the more Raph struggled with Michelangelo, whether mentally or physically, the more it spurred his youngest brother on.  “Ya’ got any suggestions?”

            “Placate him,” Master Splinter answered emphatically.  “He now knows something of what you have been keeping to yourself so it will not damage you to embellish on that point.  If there is anything else you feel comfortable in feeding him, do so.  Make him feel that he has peeled the truth from you.”

            “Make him work for what I tell him,” Raph said, the corners of his mouth lifting as he realized how devious his father could be.

            “Precisely.”  Master Splinter looked at Raph for a second before saying, “He is fixated on the notes that you have sworn not to be receiving.  It would probably be best if you somehow account for them.”

            “But I haven’t . . . .”  Raph cut off his automatic protest when he saw the knowing look on his father’s face.  “How’d ya’ know about them?”

            Master Splinter gave him a self-satisfied smile.  “I could say that you just told me.”

            Startled, Raph’s mouth opened and then snapped shut.  His father waited until Raph finally blurted, “Ya’ bluffed me?”

            “Not entirely,” Master Splinter said, still wearing his smile.  “I have had a feeling that the invisible notes were actually quite real.  Michelangelo was much too emphatic about it, leading me to believe he had seen something.  Have they something to do with Angel’s brother?”

            Raph shook his head slowly, his mind racing.  “I met up with Ryan again after the notes started coming,” he said.  “Ryan was shocked ta see me ‘cause he’d kinda convinced himself we were a figment of his imagination.”

            “I see.”  Master Splinter sighed.  “There would be no reason for Mr. Jones to write you notes, since you could easily converse with him in person without raising any questions.  There is a third party involved, is there not?”

            This was the danger of conversing with Master Splinter; no matter how innocuous it began, there was always the chance he was springing a trap.  “Yeah,” Raph said slowly.  “That’s kinda what made Casey admit ta how he thought he felt about me.  I was cutting our patrols short so I could get those notes and he got jealous.  He never knew about the notes, Master Splinter.  He thought I was blowing him off ta go be with someone and figured he should have first dibs.  That should’ve been my clue that it wasn’t gonna work out with him.”

            Raph hoped by bringing the talk back around to Casey he could pull his father’s scent off of the third person in his life, but he should have known Master Splinter wouldn’t lose focus.

            “The notes were written by this as yet unnamed person,” Master Splinter said.  “I am concerned that you would expose your existence to someone, Raphael.  Were the notes that provocative?”

            Raph shrugged.  “They were mostly haikus,” he said.  “Nice ones; ones that kinda spoke ta me.  Ya’ don’t have ta worry about me giving anything away ta a stranger, sensei.  This other person is somebody we already know.”

            Master Splinter examined him with a sharp eye.  “Since you are so averse to telling me who it is, I must guess that you believe I will find the information to be distasteful.  Is it Hun?”

            “No way!” Raph exclaimed, astonished that his father would even think that.

            Patting the air, Master Splinter said, “Be calm my son.  I only suggested it because I realized long ago that Hun is attracted to men and during his many battles with our family he seemed to fixate on you.”

            With a shudder, Raph said, “It ain’t Hun.  The idea makes my skin crawl.  I don’t want ta mention the guy’s name ‘cause we’re washed up too.  I liked his notes; they made me think about stuff like how maybe I don’t gotta be alone forever.  When we finally met up he let me take the lead in everything.  He said it was so I’d know I could trust him, but I started ta believe he was manipulating me by letting me think I was in charge of what we did.”

            “I understand,” Master Splinter said with a nod.  “It is a subtle technique that could prove effective with someone who was not experienced or who did not understand what they were searching for in a partner.  But you were also experimenting with Casey at the time so you had a basis for comparison.  Now both men have been found wanting by you.  Could that be because someone more appropriate has taken your fancy?  Someone who now knows you are not a figment of the imagination?”

            A touch of humor had returned to Master Splinter’s voice and Raph squirmed under his gaze.  “Ryan’s different,” he admitted, hoping his embarrassment wasn’t showing.  “Every time I’m with him I’m completely comfortable.  I can just be me.  We’re still getting ta know each other though.”

            “Through working on cars and fishing?” Master Splinter asked.

            “Yeah,” Raph answered, smiling as he thought about his night out with Ryan and how much he enjoyed it.  “The fishing trip is on for Saturday morning if it’s still okay with ya’.”

            “It is,” Master Splinter said.  “Raphael, I am happy that you have this opportunity to experience a relationship and equally as glad that you discussed things with me.  I want you to know that you can always talk to me about anything without fearing the ramifications.  There should always be someone with whom you can speak and who you trust implicitly.  It would be best, considering the circumstances of our existence that you never fail to inform a family member of your whereabouts.”

            “I’ve been talking ta Donny about stuff,” Raph admitted.  “He never passes judgment and he doesn’t make me feel like I’m an idiot.”

            “That is because you are not,” Master Splinter said.  “Donatello is extremely intelligent and very honest.  If you were behaving in an unwise manner, he would tell you so.  I am glad you feel comfortable sharing things with him, it seems you both have something in common now.”

            “We were sensing that from each other,” Raph said.  “That’s what got us talking in the first place.”

            Master Splinter released a long deep cleansing breath and rose to his feet.  “Let us put this discussion to bed for the night.  I will not push you for the name of the third man because I trust that you have been discreet and not placed this family in danger.  If there were a problem in that regard, I am sure that Donatello would have advised you appropriately.”

            Raph didn’t attempt to disabuse his father of the notion that he’d shared everything with Donny.  Let his father assume that someone in the family knew all of Raph’s secrets.  It wouldn’t be long before Raph was free of Bishop and it would be a moot point anyway.

            “Thanks for understanding, sensei,” Raph said, “and for keeping Mikey off my back while I tried ta figure everything out.”

            They walked to the door together and Raph bowed as he reached to open it.  Before he could step out, Master Splinter said, “There are still things to resolve, my son.  One of which is to find harmony in your relationship with Michelangelo.”

            “I’ll figure out what ta do, Master Splinter,” Raph promised.

            He watched as his father slid the door closed and then turned, expecting to find his brothers waiting up for him.  Raph was surprised to see none of them, especially since he was so positive that Leo, if no one else, would be ready to pounce.

            Glancing upstairs, Raph saw that all of his brother’s bedroom doors were closed.  That was deceptive; any or all of them could be camped out in his room for all he knew.

            There was only one way to find out if he was going to get any sleep and that was by tackling the situation head on.  With a last hard, determined look at his closed door, Raph bounded up the staircase.

TBC…………..

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comic by Dragona15 on deviantArt, who has an amazing sense of humor (especially with regard to Hun!).  
> 


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Word Count: 4,461 multi-chapter 2k3 verse  
> Summary: Raphael has a secret admirer - or two.  
> Rating p20: R  
> Pairing: Casey/Raph/Casey, Bishop/Raph/Bishop, Ryan/Raph/Ryan

            Reaching his room, Raph threw open the door, ready to do battle.  To his surprise, the lights were off and the room empty.

            Slowly closing the door behind him, Raph flicked the switch which powered the corner lamp stand.  Not quite believing that his brothers had chosen to go to bed, he looked around the small space once more.

            Almost immediately he spotted a piece of paper on his nightstand and Raph crossed over so he could pick it up.  It was a note from Donny saying that he’d talked to April and that she was okay.  Casey had not gone to her place after leaving the lair.

            Raph dropped the note and sank down into his hammock.  The adrenaline was draining from his body and he was starting to feel both exhausted and a little sick to his stomach.  His mind automatically began to do a playback of his conversation with Casey, trying to find flaws in anything he’d said or the way he’d said it.

            Despite Casey’s assurances that things were all right between them, until they were once more interacting normally Raph would have doubts.  He couldn’t believe that he’d been so desperate as to have an affair with his best friend but that was water under the bridge now.  If his father had taught him anything it was that if you broke something you had to find a way to fix it.

            With any luck, in the future he and Casey would look back on this experience with fondness and regard it as something that had brought them closer as friends.  What they had shared had certainly helped Raph to understand the man better and hopefully it would do the same for Casey.

            The relief that Raph should have been feeling wasn’t total and he knew why.  There was still a task to complete and he had a real concern that a heartfelt talk might not be good enough to resolve the situation between himself and Agent John Bishop.

            Raph knew he’d have to try that first though; there was no way around it.  If Bishop was genuine in his feelings for the turtle, then Raph owed it to him to tell him the truth face to face.  If it turned out that this entire thing, starting with those notes, was some elaborate trick then Raph could pat himself on the back for seeing through it.  Of course he’d have to somehow manage to survive the encounter.

            He had a date with Ryan for Saturday and Raph knew that he didn’t want any of this to still be hanging over his head while he was with the man.  The sooner he talked to Bishop and got that over with, the better.

            Raph was a turtle of action.  He’d never been much good at waiting and this was no exception.  Since he knew what he had to do, he decided to do it.

            Leaping out of his hammock, Raph silently left his room and proceeded downstairs.  Using the exit into the tunnels, Raph waited just outside of the door for a good ten minutes in order to be sure that he wasn’t followed.

            Once he felt reasonably confident that no one had realized he’d left the lair, Raph ran back to where he’d hidden Bishop’s burner phone.  With it in hand he slipped into the deepest of shadows and waited for another ten minutes, watching his back trail.  If Mikey had been tailing him, Raph would have known during the first waiting period, but if Leo happened to see him leave and had followed, then the extra caution was more than necessary.

            Due to the lateness of the hour, Raph wasn’t sure how long it would take for Bishop to answer his phone.  Raph was therefore surprised when he only had to wait through two rings.

            _“Raphael?”_ Bishop asked cautiously.

            “Yeah,” Raph responded.  “We need ta talk.”

            There was a momentary pause and then Bishop said, _“Not I am sure, over the phone.”_

            _“Shit,”_ Raph thought to himself, _“he knows.”_   He should have known the man would understand what those few words meant.

            “Can ya’ meet me tonight?” Raph asked.

            _“Of course,”_ Bishop said.  _“Where?”_

            “I’ll call and give ya’ directions,” Raph told him.  “Come alone.”

            _“You will no doubt ensure that I do,”_ Bishop said.  _“I will be awaiting your call.”_

            Raph hung up and put the phone back into its hiding place.  He thought about taking a different route home but decided that if anyone had followed him then he might as well try to catch them in the act.

            However, Raph reached the lair without incident.  As far as he could tell, everyone was still asleep.

            As Raph crawled back into his hammock it dawned on him that all of this subterfuge was another thing he wasn’t going to miss.  The thrill of sneaking off to a clandestine meeting had worn off pretty quickly and the constant worry that his family was watching his every move was annoying.

            His father and Donny already knew about Ryan and Raph had no problem with telling Mikey and Leo about him when the time came.  Ryan Bridge was a secret that Raph didn’t need to keep from his family.

            The anticipation of having an open and fulfilling relationship with someone that he could really trust eased Raph’s anxiety enough so that he relaxed and finally fell asleep.

~~~~~~~~

            Being ‘tired’ was not an acceptable excuse for underperforming during practice, nor could it be used to explain tardiness.  Raph could easily have slept through the morning if Leo hadn’t banged on his door bright and early, announcing in his leader’s voice that they were all waiting on Raph.

            With a low groan, Raph rolled out of his hammock and geared up as quickly as he could, tying on his mask as he leaped down to the floor below.  One thing he did not want to do was to get on his father’s bad side.  Raph’s freedom of movement was contingent on ensuring that Master Splinter considered him to be acting in a responsible manner.

            Responsible equaled mature.  Maturity.  Raph supposed that if he was going to have a lover then he needed to fully embrace becoming an adult.  It wasn’t as though he and his brothers hadn’t already had to grow up fast, but this took things to a whole new level.

            When he reached the dojo Raph discovered that their sensei hadn’t as yet arrived.  Raph sent a glare in Leo’s direction on general principles and then began to stretch and warm up.

            After a few minutes Raph got the feeling that someone was watching him and he looked up directly into Mikey’s baby blues.

            “So what’s it like?” Mikey asked before Raph could say anything.

            “What is what like?” Raph growled, though he had a feeling that he knew the answer already.

            “Sex,” Mikey said, verifying Raph’s suspicions.

            There was a small sound next to him and Raph glanced over at Donatello, who said, “He asked me that earlier.”

            “I asked him about sex with _girls_ ,” Mikey clarified.  “Now I wanna know about sex with guys.”

            “Why the hell would ya’ even ask that question after what ya’ said last night?” Raph demanded.

            “You took me by surprise last night,” Mikey said with a slight pout.

            “Oh, so now you’re okay with my sexual orientation?  Couple hours sleep and suddenly you’re enlightened?  I’ll bet ya’ still can’t figure out why I was keeping this a secret from ya’,” Raph said hotly.

            “Shh, Master Splinter’s coming,” Leo hissed.

            The brothers immediately fell silent as their sensei entered the dojo.  Master Splinter’s sharp eyes swept over his sons and Raph had the distinct impression that he knew exactly what they’d been talking about.  Rather than address the issue though, he began their practice session.

            To say that it was brutal would have been an understatement.  Not only did he work them harder than usual, he also pushed them for far longer than was normal.  When Master Splinter finally announced that practice was over, all of the brothers collapsed on the floor.

            Though their session may have ended, Master Splinter was not finished with them by a long shot.  This was obvious when rather than exiting the dojo as he usually did, Master Splinter tapped the floor with his walking stick.

            “Attend,” Master Splinter instructed and then waited as his sons all kneeled in front of him.

            Master Splinter stood silently before them, his eyes closed.  The brothers exchanged glances, each wondering if their lesson for the day was truly over, or if their sensei had more wisdom to impart.  As the minutes dragged by, Mikey began to fidget and Don’s mind started to wander.

            “Michelangelo,” Master Splinter said so abruptly that Mikey jumped.

            “Yes sensei?” Mikey asked cautiously.

            “Please stand up,” Master Splinter requested.

            Sure that he was about to be used as an example, Mikey rose slowly to his feet, anticipating a strike from his father’s stick.  None came, but Mikey remained on his guard as he faced the ninja master.

            “I would like for you to look up and tell me what you see,” Master Splinter instructed.

            With a puzzled expression, Mikey tilted his head back and looked towards the ceiling.  Just above him, perched on a rafter, was a comic book.

            Bringing his eyes back down to his father, Mikey exclaimed, “That’s my first edition Silver Sentry comic!”

            “Yes it is,” Master Splinter acknowledged.  “Would you like to retrieve it?”

            “Yeah.”  Mikey turned towards the nearest support column but before he could take more than a couple of steps, the tap of his father’s stick against his shell stopped him.

            “You may not climb up to get it,” Master Splinter told him.  “In fact, you may not step outside of the ten foot circle surrounding the area where you are currently standing.  You may however, use anything within the circle to achieve your goal.”

            It was certainly a test of some sort, but neither Mikey nor his brothers were quite sure where it was leading.  After thinking for a moment, Mikey pulled one of his nunchaku from his belt.

            “I would consider that option carefully before executing it,” Master Splinter murmured.  “The comic book is held in place by a rather large clip.  Tossing your weapon at it in the hopes of dislodging the book from its perch will not work and you will only succeed in tearing the book into pieces.”

            Mikey shoved the nunchuck into his belt and frowned.  Looking around him for anything he could use to reach his precious comic, his eyes lighted on his brothers.

            “Leo,” Mikey called excitedly.  “Give me a boost, would you?”

            Leo glanced at his father and hearing no protest from him, jumped to his feet and stood beneath the rafter which was holding Mikey’s comic book hostage.  As he braced himself, Mikey stepped into his offered hands and then carefully stood on his shoulders.

            Stretching to his full height and reaching as high as he could, Mikey found that he was still nowhere near the comic book.  He leaped down in frustration and then beckoned to Don.

            “Come on Donny, help a turtle out,” Mikey begged.

            Rolling his eyes, Don stood and took Leo’s place as the bottom of the totem pole.  Leo crawled onto his shoulders and then caught Mikey’s hand as the youngest bounced from Don’s knee up to Leo’s shoulders.

            With all three of them standing tall, Mikey once again extended his hand towards the comic, only to find that he was still several feet short of his goal.

            Mikey’s whine sounded exactly like that of a lost pup’s.  He looked down at his father and then over at Raph, who was studiously avoiding his gaze.

            “This appears to be a task requiring the efforts of the entire team Michelangelo,” Master Splinter stated mildly.  “I wonder if Raphael would be willing to assist you, considering how lately you have gone out of your way to annoy and ostracize him.”

            It was suddenly very clear what Master Splinter’s lesson was meant to teach Mikey and the rest of them as well.  Without moving from his position, Mikey glanced at Leo and then sighed in resignation before his eyes returned to Raph.

            “I’m sorry I’ve been such a jerk Raphie,” Mikey called down to his brother, his voice holding a note of sincerity that made Raph finally look up.  “I promise I’ll find ways to entertain myself in the future that don’t cause you any grief.  Please help me.”

            The look on Mikey’s face was sufficiently pitiful to get Raph onto his feet.  “Yeah, yeah, I’ll help ya’ out nut ball.”

            Squatting behind Don, Raph pushed against his brother’s legs, getting Don to slide his feet over the floor mats in order to widen the space between them.  Raph ducked into the gap and as soon as his shoulders made contact with the backs of Don’s thighs he stood up, lifting all three of his brothers.

            Face to face with his comic, Mikey delicately freed it from the clip.  Rolling it up loosely, he placed the book into his belt and then flipped down from Leo’s shoulders.  His brothers followed suit until they were all once more lined up on their knees in front of their sensei.

            “What have you learned Michelangelo?” Master Splinter asked when he again had his son’s attention.

            “That I can’t do things that upset my bro’s,” Mikey responded quickly.  “Pranks are one thing but sometimes I guess I carry things too far.  I gotta show them respect if I want any in return.”

            Master Splinter nodded.  “You cannot expect to be a successful team if you cannot manage to get along as a family.  Martial arts training is about more than physical prowess, it is also about discipline and mental agility; the ability to act properly, think quickly, and to recognize and do the right thing.

            “There will be others who come into our lives and some of them will occupy a special place that will make them a part of our family.  For this very reason it behooves us to allow each other the privacy necessary to make those connections and to trust each other to always keep our safety as their topmost concern.

            “You are all getting too old for me to have to continue to remind you of these things that are so fundamental to our survival.  This should already be ingrained into you to the point where it is natural that when faced with a new situation you should think ‘family first’.  It should not however be carried to such an extreme that personal stubbornness and curiosity cause you to justify inappropriate actions.  Do you each understand this?”

            A chorus of ‘yes sensei’ followed his question.  Looking around at their faces once more, Master Splinter said, “You are dismissed.”

            He turned and left the dojo.  His sons remained where they were for a few minutes before rising and glancing around at one another.

            The silence was awkward but Raph could tell that his brothers, like him, weren’t exactly sure what to say.  Mikey finally broke the tension by blurting out, “I’m hungry.  Anybody wanna help me throw together some soup and sandwiches?”

            “That sounds good to me,” Don responded immediately.  “Come on; let’s see what we have in the fridge.”

            Raph watched the pair head towards the kitchen as he contemplated the vagaries of his youngest brother’s personality.  Michelangelo had spent nearly two weeks making his life miserable with his nonstop prying but now with a quick apology Mikey’s attentions were redirected to other things.  Mikey wouldn’t cause Raph anymore mischief, partly because his curiosity was sated and partly because Master Splinter’s lesson had hit home.

            Shaking his head, Raph made as if to follow his brothers when Leo placed a hand on his arm.

            “Could we talk for a second?” Leo asked, his demeanor sincere and non-confrontational.

            Alert but interested, Raph said, “Sure, what about?”

            Leo seemed to be struggling to put his thoughts into words and that made Raph even more attentive.  It wasn’t often that Leo had trouble verbalizing what was on his mind but when he did it usually meant that he was discomfited by something.

            “I had tea with Master Splinter early this morning,” Leo began.

            Raph nodded encouragingly.  “Ya’ do most mornings.”

            “Usually we talk about training and how well we functioned as a team during the latest patrol,” Leo said.  “This morning he wanted to talk about you.”

            “Leo, you and I both know that ain’t the first time I was the subject of one of your talks with sensei,” Raph said, a look of tolerant amusement on his face.

            “He helped me to comprehend some things,” Leo said, skipping over Raph’s assertion as though he hadn’t spoken.  “I think I understand how it is you could want someone special in your life, someone who could show you another side of living that doesn’t involve constantly fighting to survive.”

            “That ain’t all we do bro’,” Raph said.  “We have fun too.”

            “I know we do,” Leo told him, seeming a little vexed at being unable to get his point across.  “I’m talking more about the aspect of our lives that precludes us from having real relationships.  I never knew that Don still had feelings for April and that he hid them because he figured he wasn’t meant to experience that kind of love.  It hurts me to know he’s lived with that acceptance and I feel the same pain at knowing that you felt like you had to hide your choices from us for fear of censure and reprisals.”

            “Shell Leo, I didn’t think about having that kind of chance with someone either,” Raph said.  “I didn’t even bother ta daydream about it enough ta know I liked guys.  Didn’t expect ta have anyone express that kind of interest in me since I’m a walking, talking turtle.”

            “That’s just it,” Leo said, his eyes unnaturally bright.  “We’ve all shoved those ideas away and accepted the concept of being alone though now it looks like we won’t have to.  It almost seems like when you and Don found that you had other options, you were ashamed to tell us about them.”

            “Maybe not so much ashamed as guilty,” Raph explained.  “The four of us are close, closer than most brothers.  It don’t seem right sometimes that me and Don can have something in common that we can’t share with you and Mikey.  Yeah, I discovered that I don’t want ta be alone my whole life and that ain’t just because sex is so great, it’s ‘cause when ya’ bond with someone on that level it’s like unlocking a whole new part of yourself.”

            “The deeper meaning of life,” Leo said almost reverently.  His eyes had a far off look in them as they drifted towards the lair.  “That is a revelation I’d like to experience for myself.”

            “Maybe ya’ will someday,” Raph told him.  “If it can happen for me and Don, then the odds are you’ll meet up with someone who can give ya’ the same chance.  Next time you’re meditating, take a minute ta figure out what ya’ want in a partner so you’ll recognize them when ya’ meet them.”

            Leo’s attention returned to Raph and he smiled.  “I think I already have,” he said enigmatically.  “Let’s go get some lunch; Mikey makes the best soup I’ve ever tasted.”

            Raph jogged after him as they headed for the kitchen.  “I gotta admit, cooking is one thing Mikey does really well.”

            “He does a lot of things well,” Leo said.  “You’re usually too annoyed with him to notice.”

            Laughing, Raph said, “His head is plenty swelled up enough.  Ya’ can go ahead and notice for the both of us.”

            “I will,” Leo said as he hurried into the kitchen, leaving Raph to ponder his words.

            When Donatello wandered off to his lab after lunch, Raph followed him.  There were a couple of things on his agenda for the day; things that had to be done before he set out to meet Bishop, and talking to Donny was one of them.

            “Hey,” Raph called out as Don began sorting through a box of computer parts.

            Looking up, Don blinked in surprise at seeing his brother; they had just been at table together and Raph had plenty of opportunities to talk to him then.  Quickly comprehending that this was to be a private conversation, Don asked, “What’s up?”

            “Were ya’ planning on going over ta April’s tonight?” Raph asked.

            “Yes I was actually,” Don said, shoving the box aside as he reached for another one.  “I told Leo that if he wanted to patrol he’d have to do so without me.  I don’t think that leaving April alone is such a great idea right now, not with the way Casey reacted to the news that we’re seeing each other.”

            “He doesn’t want ta patrol again tonight, does he?” Raph asked, worried that he’d have to answer questions for why he was going to bow out as well.

            “No fortunately,” Don said.  “He was thinking about it but something changed his mind.  I got the impression that he thought you were going somewhere too.”

            “Yeah I am,” Raph said.  “I got some stuff I need ta take care of and no, it ain’t got anything ta do with Casey.  Him and me are gonna chill for a while until he gets his head on right.”

            “I hope that happens sooner than later,” Don said caustically.  “Why did you want to know if I was seeing April?”

            “I was wondering if you’d have time ta tighten up security around here,” Raph answered.  “I ain’t worried that Casey will cause us problems but I am worried that the bone head wasn’t any too cautious about being followed when he barged in here last night.  I’m also worried that he’ll decide ta self-medicate away his miseries at some bar.  Loose lips do more than just sink ships, if ya’ know what I mean.”

            Don slowly replaced the computer parts he was holding.  “I have been meaning to add a couple of cameras to the exterior of the garage and put in a perimeter alarm,” he said.  “In fact Casey’s surprise visit reminded me that I needed to do that.”

            “I’ll help ya’, that way it’ll get done faster,” Raph offered.  He was happy when Don began gathering the things they’d need without asking anymore questions.

            The project ate away another couple of hours but it gave Raph a greater sense of peace knowing that Don had their home completely secured.  Maybe Bishop wasn’t going to become a problem, but Raph believed in hedging his bets.

            With that task completed, Raph left Don in his lab and headed towards his father’s room in order to check another one off his list.  After the schooling their father had given them that morning, Raph felt a touch of anxiety with regards to what he needed to do, but he was determined to adhere to his previous agreement with Master Splinter.

            “You are early for your meditation session,” Master Splinter said after calling for Raph to enter.

            “Actually I needed ta ask ya’ something,” Raph said as he kneeled before his father.  “Leo ain’t planning on a patrol tonight and I was hoping ta use the time ta meet with the other guy I told ya’ about.  I think he knows I don’t want ta be with him but it ain’t right that I don’t tell him in person.  I just want ta get it over with.”

            “That is understandable,” Master Splinter murmured.  “You are seeking my permission to leave the lair alone and go out to meet an unknown person in order to end an affair with him which may then lead to repercussions.  Even for humans that is a situation fraught with danger.  Are you still committed to keeping his name a secret?”

            Raph’s level of apprehension increased.  That family first lecture earlier had been meant for him as much as anybody and Master Splinter seemed to be calling him on it.

            “I ain’t in any danger from him, father.  The man has a level head on his shoulders and we already talked about this possibility,” Raph said emphatically.  “I don’t want ta say who it is ‘cause I’m embarrassed enough that everyone knows about me and Casey.  For the rest of my life every time I go hang with Case they’re gonna look at me funny and wonder if we’ve started up again.  I’ve gotta live with that over one of my affairs, I sure as shell don’t want ta double the embarrassment.”

            “Because this man is someone that we all know,” Master Splinter said softly.

            Raph swallowed thickly, suddenly having a strange feeling that his father had guessed his secret.  “Yeah,” he replied.

            Master Splinter contemplated his son and Raph watched the aged rat’s face.  Raph carefully kept his brain focused on an image of his motorcycle, mentally tracing the engine so that his father wouldn’t find anything but that picture in his mind.

            With a heavy sigh, Master Splinter said, “Very well, you may go out.  Please use the utmost caution during your endeavor; spurned lovers, even the most docile ones, can cause immense difficulties.  You will have your cell phone with you?”

            “Yes sensei,” Raph said, glad that he didn’t have to worry about his brothers doing any unwanted tracing of him with it.  “I’ll even call Don at a certain time, that way if he doesn’t hear from me they can track me down.”

            “I will feel better knowing you have taken some precautions,” Master Splinter said.  “Since you are here, perhaps you would also like to get your meditation over with as well.”

            Raph chuckled.  “Why not?  This is my day ta tackle stuff head on.”

            Although he felt fairly confident that his father wouldn’t invade his thoughts as they meditated, Raph was careful to avoid allowing Bishop into his head.  Therefore he didn’t have a chance to think about how he wanted to stage their meeting and it was fast approaching evening.

            Too pent up to sleep, Raph decided to go a few rounds with his punching bag.  That type of physical exercise left his mind free to wander and would give him an opportunity to come up with a plan.

            There was only one problem with that idea; as soon as he drew close to the dojo Raph heard a sound that told him someone had gotten to the punching bag first.

            With a sense of mild foreboding, Raph decided to investigate.

TBC…………


	21. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Word Count: 5,943 multi-chapter 2k3 verse  
> Summary: Raphael has a secret admirer - or two.  
> Rating p21: R  
> Pairing: Casey/Raph/Casey, Bishop/Raph/Bishop, Ryan/Raph/Ryan

            Stepping into the dojo to find out who was there, Raph was surprised to see Mikey pummeling the bag, his head down and skin drenched in sweat.  It was an odd sight, made even more bizarre by the intensity of Michelangelo’s concentration as his fists drove into the faded leather.

            Raph stood there watching his brother, unsure as to whether he should leave or stay put.  It was unusual and worrisome to see Mikey releasing his extra energy in this way, most of the time Mikey’s idea of letting go of steam involved something that _he_ considered fun.

            When Mikey continued to pound on the bag nonstop, seemingly unaware of Raph’s presence, the older turtle walked over to him.

            “Ya’ should have wrapped your hands,” Raph said quietly.  “The skin on your knuckles ain’t calloused enough and it’s starting ta split.”

            Mikey hit the bag a few more times and then stopped, holding the bag between his palms as he leaned his forehead against it.  Raph remained silent, waiting for Mikey to figure out what, if anything, he wanted to say.

            “Why does growing up have to suck?” Mikey asked, his voice slightly muffled.

            Frowning, Raph said, “It doesn’t have ta if ya’ don’t fight it.  Getting older ain’t something ya’ really have any choice about.”

            “But you _want_ to!” Mikey exclaimed with a ferocity that took Raph aback.  “If you’d stop trying to grow up then things around here would stay the same.”

            “No they wouldn’t bro’,” Raph said gently, avoiding any hint of confrontation from entering his voice.  “This ain’t some story like Peter Pan; when ya’ get older things just don’t look the same anymore, no matter how hard ya’ try ta hold onto that illusion.”

            “That doesn’t mean we can’t try,” Mikey said.  “Haven’t we been okay the way we are?  Why do you and Don have to run off chasing sex?  What’s so great about it?”

            “We aren’t chasing ‘sex’ Mikey,” Raph answered.  “It’s damn awesome, I’ll admit, but it ain’t everything.  What it does do is add something deep to the connection ya’ have with an intimate partner.  It’s about finding love.”

            Mikey turned his head, his blue eyes pleading.  “We love each other don’t we?  Us against the world, we said that when we were kids.  We’d always stick together.  What happens when you and Don run off to be with your lovers?  Is our team gonna fall apart?  If Leo doesn’t have anyone to lead he’ll take off to finish his training with the Ancient One and I’ll be here alone.”

            Suddenly Raph understood why Mikey had been such a pain in the ass to him; all of the prying, the insistence on knowing Raph’s secrets, the tattling.  It was because Mikey instinctively knew that Raph was pulling away from his brothers and that his finding a partner could create a domino effect within their family.

            “We’re still a team and we’re still brothers,” Raph said reassuringly.  “That ain’t gonna change.  Don spends time with April; heck he’s been spending time with her, but everything around here still gets done and he’s never missed a patrol.  Just ‘cause I might find someone I want ta call mate don’t mean I’m gonna abandon my family.  I been going out at night trying ta discover who I am and what I want, but I’m here when I’m supposed ta be.  We still practice together, eat together, patrol together, none of that has changed.”

            “Except that you don’t seem to have time for me anymore,” Mikey said forlornly.  “You and Donny used to do stuff with me sometimes, but now Leo is the only one who hangs with me.”

            “If ya’ hadn’t been such a nuisance lately I might be doing stuff with ya’,” Raph said.  “When things settle down they’ll go back ta normal.  If I remember correctly, Leo has always been more open ta being your one turtle entertainment committee anyway.  Shit, he thinks you’re the most talented turtle in the lair except ya’ don’t focus.  He ain’t gonna run off and leave ya’ alone and me and Donny sure as shell ain’t gonna do that either.”

            Mikey seemed to think on that for a minute and then lifted his head from the punching bag.  “He thinks I’m the most talented?”

            “Shut it, Mikey,” Raph growled playfully.  “Don’t ya’ ever tell him I told ya’ that.”

            Grinning, Mikey said, “Leo was hinting at something when we talked earlier, I’ll bet that’s what it was.  He just didn’t want to come out and admit it.”

            “Damn, he pampers ya’ and lets ya’ get away with stuff enough without giving ya’ a swelled head on top of that,” Raph said.  “Do me a favor and don’t get all insufferable.”

            “I guess I’ll go easy on you to make up for being nosy,” Mikey said magnanimously.  “But I still think you were getting notes.”

            Raph sighed.  “Ya’ just don’t quit, do ya’?  If I was getting notes then ya’ already know why, so it ain’t no big deal.”

            “Sure I know why, I just don’t know who,” Mikey said.  “I don’t think Casey knows how to write so they couldn’t be from him.”

            Pointing a finger at Mikey, Raph said, “That was rude.  Casey ain’t stupid, he’s just temperamental.”  Remembering Master Splinter’s advice, he added, “Look bro’, Casey ain’t the only one I got involved with, okay?  Casey was the first one ta come out and say something ‘cause he thought someone else was interested.  That’s why me and Casey ain’t together like that anymore; we were only experimenting anyway.  It wasn’t serious.”

            “There’s someone else?” Mikey asked, staring avidly at Raph.  Snapping his fingers, Mikey said, “It’s Angel’s brother isn’t it?  I could tell you guys connected that night we saved Angel.  You and Casey were okay until you saw him again right?  He gave you his number ‘cause he’s into you and that’s why you broke up with Casey.”

            Though exasperated at Mikey’s reasoning, his guess about Ryan took his mind off of the notes so he didn’t notice the sequence of events didn’t quite jibe.  Raph would let him have his little victory because he’d be so pleased with himself he’d forget the damn notes.  Besides, everyone was going to know about Ryan soon enough.

            “First off, Casey and me weren’t going steady like a couple of love struck kids.  Second, yeah I like Ryan Bridge but right now we ain’t anything but friends trying ta get ta know each other.  Third, Casey don’t know anything about me seeing Ryan and I’d just as soon he didn’t ‘cause I don’t want a repeat of what Casey tried ta do ta Donny.  His feelings are too raw,” Raph said.

            “This is better than one of Master Splinter’s stories,” Mikey chortled gleefully.

            Raph frowned at him.  “Mikey, I know ya’ could cause me some grief over this but ya’ usually know how far ta take your pranks so that they don’t do any actual harm.  I’m asking ya’ ta keep this ta yourself.  One bro’ to another.”

            “Who knows about this?” Mikey asked.

            Taking a deep breath, Raph said, “Master Splinter does of course.  I’ve been telling him everything, that’s why he’s been so aggravated with _you_.  When Donny and I started talking about the situation with April and Casey I told him a little about Ryan.  Leo doesn’t know shit.  I don’t know how things are gonna go with Ryan and I don’t want ta jinx them.  I like him, Mikey.  I like him a lot.”

            The mischievous expression on Mikey’s face melted at the sincerity of Raph’s declaration.  “Dude, I wouldn’t do anything to mess that up,” he said.  “I might wish things wouldn’t change but I’d never do something that was hurtful to get my way.  The only reason I snitched to Master Splinter was because I was scared we were losing you.”

            “Ya’ ain’t getting rid of me that easy ya’ nut ball,” Raph said.

            Mikey had relaxed and stepped away from the punching bag, but now a puzzled frown etched his face and Raph could almost see the wheels spinning in his head.  After a minute Mikey looked at his brother through narrowed eyes, and Raph’s hope that he’d sidetracked the youngest went out the window.

            “I found that note on the roof top two nights before any of us met Ryan again,” Mikey said.  “It didn’t match his handwriting because it wasn’t from him but it _was_ meant for you, wasn’t it?  So if the notes didn’t come from Casey and they didn’t come from Ryan, who _was_ writing them?”

            Master Splinter’s words echoed in Raph’s head; _“Placate him.  He now knows something of what you have been keeping to yourself so it will not damage you to embellish on that point. If there is anything else you feel comfortable in feeding him, do so. Make him feel that he has peeled the truth from you.”_

            Mikey had his mental teeth in the idea of notes and nothing less than an explanation was going to shake him loose.  That didn’t mean that the story he heard had to be entirely factual.

            Remembering that the note Mikey had found did not have his name on it, Raph said, “A couple of months ago I found a note on that same roof top.  The paper looked new and I got curious ‘cause it was stuck under a brick instead of just blowing around loose.  When I opened the paper there was a haiku on it.”

            “Just a haiku?” Mikey asked.

            “Yeah,” Raph answered.  “Like something Leo would read.  Heck, for a second I wondered if someone didn’t leave it there thinking he’d find it.”

            Raph decided it wouldn’t hurt to use Leo as a giant red herring and from the frown on Mikey’s face, he knew his instinct in that regard had been spot on.

            “What did it say?” Mikey asked, looking as though that knowledge was very important to him.

            Watching Mikey’s face as he repeated the haiku, Raph felt a touch of satisfaction in seeing his brother’s thoughtful expression.  Along with the deeply concentrated look was another that reminded Raph of Casey during one of his fits of jealous pique.

            “Were there more?  Did you keep them?  What did they say?” Mikey asked in rapid fire succession.

            “There were a few more and they were mostly haikus,” Raph said.  “The only others were random poems.  I kept them for a while ‘cause I liked a few of the haikus, but then I burned them all ‘cause I didn’t want ya’ finding them and thinking they were mine.”

            “Did you always find them in the same place?”  Mikey was staring at Raph as though his answers were the most important in the world at the moment.

            “Always on the same roof,” Raph told him.  “I got ta the point where I was so damn curious about the stupid things that I’d cut my nights out with Casey short just so I could look to see if there was a new one.  I sure as shell wasn’t gonna tell him about it ‘cause that would have been humiliating.  Maybe if I’d have sucked it up and told him he wouldn’t have put on that jealous act about me running off all the time.”

            “Is that why the two of you hooked up?” Mikey asked.

            “It was but I wasn’t bright enough ta figure it out at the time,” Raph said, waving the past away with a flick of his hand.  “Casey had broken up with April and he got kind of dependent on me.  When he thought I was interested in someone he panicked.  I’m sure he had the idea that he really wanted ta be with me that way, but it wasn’t right for us.”

            “But the notes . . . .” Mikey began.

            “Stopped coming,” Raph said, cutting his brother off before Mikey could ask a direct question that would require a bald faced lie.  So far he had managed to skirt full disclosure by telling partial truths.  “Maybe whoever wrote them finally got an answer or moved on ta something more entertaining.  I ain’t found anymore.”

            “We have to watch Leo’s back better,” Mikey said abruptly.  “Maybe they were trying to get to him.  We should make sure he doesn’t go off by himself.”

            The fact that Mikey now seemed to be obsessing over Leo did not bother Raph one bit; better Fearless than him.

            “Sounds like a plan,” Raph said noncommittally.  “So there, ya’ got all my damn secrets now, are ya’ happy?”

            A slow complacent smile spread across Mikey’s face and he beamed at Raph.  “I guess I can stop worrying about you now,” Mikey said magnanimously, as though everything he’d pulled was strictly for Raph’s own good.

            “I’m glad ta hear it,” Raph said, pushing aside his natural inclination to wipe the smug look off of his brother’s face.  Master Splinter’s suggestion that he toss Mikey a bone with a little meat on it was brilliant and another reminder of just how wise their father truly was.

            Mikey’s expression shifted to something that was almost shy as he said, “I don’t have a problem with your sexual orientation, Raphie.  I’m sorry I blurted out some stuff that didn’t sound very good.  It wasn’t because I’m bothered that you’re gay, I was just excited to find out that you really did have a secret.”

            Raph studied him for a second, trying to figure out what had caused such an extreme about face in attitude from the night before.  Could it have been his talk with Don before morning practice, or had the idea that those notes were meant for Leo . . . ?

            Mentally shaking himself, Raph said, “I ain’t sweating it bro’.  I kind of figured it was because ya’ were full of yourself.”

            “Master Splinter wasn’t bothered at all by the decisions Donny and you made in your choice of relationships, was he?” Mikey asked, the question clearly rhetorical.  “I wonder if he’d be that accepting no matter what choice we made as long as we were happy and safe.”

            “I’m sure that’s his top priority,” Raph responded slowly.  “Ya’ know what I found out in all of this, Mikey?  The best thing ta do is talk ta him instead of trying ta read his mind.  He ain’t gonna go off on ya’ no matter what ya’ say.”

            “Even if I ask him to let me out of my punishment?” Mikey asked slyly.  “I’d be happy if he said I didn’t have to do that extra hour of meditation.”

            “I’d leave well enough alone if I were you,” Raph said with an amused snort.  “So how about we tackle dinner together since ya’ claim I won’t do stuff with ya’?  I kinda been craving chicken parmesan and you’re the only one that knows how ta cook it so it ain’t underdone.  I’ll wash up after since your hands are gonna sting like crazy ‘til your skin heals up.”

            “Deal,” Mikey said brightly, bouncing out of the dojo ahead of his brother.

            Raph followed him at a more sedate pace, feeling a great sense of closure.  Understanding what had been driving Mikey and setting it right put him a step closer to the perfect harmony that Raph was seeking.

            Dinner that night was one of the most lighthearted and peaceful meals the family had shared in quite a while.  Mikey had outdone himself with the food and Raph thought, not for the first time, that if Mikey had been human he would have been a world class chef.

            Speaking of Mikey, the youngest had decided to monopolize Leo throughout the entire meal.  Amazingly enough, Leo seemed to devour the attention and didn’t even flinch when both Don and Raph reminded the family that they had plans for the evening.

            Donatello left for April’s apartment soon after dinner, taking a plate of food meant for her with him.  It was thoughtful gestures like that which made the genius a much better match for April than Casey had ever been.

            It was too early to try meeting up with Bishop yet, so Raph took his turn at the punching bag.  Mikey had talked Leo and Master Splinter into watching a movie with him and they were in front of the television array, the two turtles on the couch together and Master Splinter in his favorite chair.  Raph bet that within twenty minutes his father would have dozed off.

            Ten minutes of pounding the bag was all it took for Raph to decide he’d run Bishop around the city for a bit and make him think that he was being watched.  It didn’t necessarily ensure that Bishop would be alone but it would remind him that Raph was still as cautious as ever.  As far as meeting places went, Raph thought that room seven twelve in the abandoned building on 4th and Lex was as good a place as any.  It was where he’d first discovered that Bishop was his mystery note writer and it was probably the last place Bishop would expect Raph to be.

            Before Raph left the lair, he stopped by Don’s lab and borrowed a couple of high tech gadgets.  One of the nicest things about having a genius for a brother was the infinite number of security devices he was continuously creating.

            Raph’s first stop was at the abandoned building.  He performed a quick sweep of the exterior and then checked the seventh floor to make sure that no vagrants had moved in since his meeting with Bishop.  Positive that it was empty, Raph moved on to the next step in his plan.

            Pay phones were a relic of the past and though there were fewer and fewer of them in the city, Raph knew where some of them were located.  He had used that information to look up their phone numbers on Don’s laptop, jotting them down for future reference.  The second to last one that he planned to call was where Raph headed, stopping on a building across from the street corner where the pay phone booth sat.

            Leaning over, Raph attached a small spy camera to the side of the building and used the monitor built into his shell cell to make sure that he had the lens angled correctly.  When he had it perfectly centered on the booth, Raph took off, running the roof tops back to within four blocks of the abandoned building.

            There he installed another of the miniature cameras, ensuring that it gave him a good view of the sidewalk, street, and last pay phone.  With that done, Raph dropped back into the sewers, jogging through the tunnels to where the burner phone was hidden.

            This time Raph wasn’t surprised when Bishop answered on the second ring.  _“Greetings Raphael,”_ Bishop said smoothly. _“Should I start the helicopter or put on my running shoes?”_

            “Neither,” Raph answered shortly.  “Can ya’ lay your hands on a motorcycle?”

            There was barely a pause before Bishop said, _“Yes.”_

            Raph had a passing thought that Bishop would probably answer in exactly the same manner if asked if he could get hold of a tank.  “Fire it up and go to the pay phone outside of Blane’s Bodega on Barrow Street.  Since I don’t know where you’re coming from, I’ll give ya’ forty-five minutes.  Wait for my call if you’re early.  I’ll try in five minute intervals until I reach ya’, but I ain’t very patient, so move your ass.”

            _“Rather what I expected,”_ Bishop said.

            “Congratulations on your foresight,” Raph responded, disconnecting before Bishop could say anything more.

            He knew he was being harsh considering how fair Bishop had been with him so far, but Raph was both tense and anxious.  It was those exact set of feelings that Raph knew he’d have to deal with during every encounter with the man and nothing was worth going through that over and over again.

            Taking the phone with him, Raph found a hiding place for it inside a pigeon coop a few blocks from the abandoned building.  He had thirty-five minutes before he needed to call Bishop again and there were still a few things he had to do.

            Raph used up a couple of those minutes racing back to the abandoned building, accessing the seventh floor through the roof top entrance.  He went directly to room seven twelve and entered after a quick look around.

            The room was just as it had been the first night that Raph had met Bishop there, except that the alarm bell above the door and the camp light were gone.  Anticipating the need for some type of light, Raph placed the large flashlight he’d brought with him on the floor.

            Before he could open one of the windows, Raph had to chip the paint away from the window sill with his sai.  Once he had it all of the way up, Raph locked the window into the open position.

            He then went into the room next door and repeated the process with one of its windows.  After Raph had two exit points available for use he removed the door to room seven twelve from its hinges and set it to the side.

            As a final safety measure, Raph tapped on the wall between the two rooms he’d prepared.  Finding a spot that sounded hollow, he kicked a hole in the drywall on both sides and then used his hands to widen the opening so that it was large enough for him to fit through.  Shoving the debris into the next room, Raph grabbed the door and propped it against the wall in order to hide his getaway point.

            With that accomplished, Raph left the building and went back to retrieve the hidden phone.

            At forty-five minutes on the dot, Raph punched in the number to the pay phone on Barrow.  When Bishop answered it on the second ring, Raph wondered if the man had a thing for even numbers or just the number two.

            _“I am here as instructed,”_ Bishop said.

            “Prompt is good,” Raph told him.  “Okay, so this is how it works.  I run ya’ around a little ta make sure ya’ ain’t being followed.  I’ll be watching, but ya’ won’t know when and where.  Don’t talk ta anybody, don’t make any unexpected stops.  When I feel like it’s safe ta meet then we will.”

            _“I had thought we were well past this point in our relationship,”_ Bishop responded mildly.

            “Come on Bishop, ya’ know where this is going,” Raph said.  “I don’t care what ya’ said before, maybe now ya’ feel like ya’ should get something more out of our interactions.  I’m playing it safe.  If ya’ don’t want ta do this by my rules, we don’t have ta meet at all.”

            _“I promised that I was no threat to you and I don’t break my promises,”_ Bishop said.  _“However, if it eases your mind, I will follow your instructions to the letter.  I do want to meet.”_

            “Then ya’ got fifteen minutes ta reach the pay phone at the bank on Houston Street,” Raph told him.  “It’s gonna be tight even if ya’ break the speed limit, so start moving.”

            Raph hung up and stared at the phone.  Hanging onto it wasn’t the choice he would have made, but he had no other way to reach Bishop because the agent’s number didn’t show up on the burner phone’s readout.  Don could have figured it out, but this wasn’t something that Raph wanted any of his brothers involved in.

            He was half hoping that Bishop would decide that calling things off over the phone was good enough, but Raph knew in his heart that wasn’t the man’s way.  Bishop would try to get Raph to change his mind and that was a hands-on kind of mission.

            Raph’s epiphany about Bishop had been spot on; the man was always going to try to manipulate things in his favor.  Spending his life with someone who attempted to outmaneuver him on every occasion left a bitter taste in Raph’s mouth.

            When the fifteen minutes had elapsed, Raph called the next pay phone and wasn’t at all surprised when Bishop answered right away.  This time Raph told him he had twenty minutes to get to the phone on Ludlow and 49th, knowing full well that pushing the speed limit on his motorcycle would just get Bishop there on time.

            This was the point where it got tricky.  Raph had no intention of running the man around all night; he just needed to establish the fact that he was being cautious.  Hopefully the safety measures he’d taken coupled with Bishop’s own ego would suffice in keeping the EPF hoards off of Raph’s shell.

            Taking a deep breath, Raph placed his next to last call.  As he did so, Raph activated the monitor on his shell cell and brought up an image of the pay phone.  Standing next to it was Bishop, his attention on a group of people who were passing him on the sidewalk.

            Raph watched as Bishop glanced at the phone and then picked it up.

            _“I had a minute to spare,”_ Bishop said lightly.

            “Must be nice not ta have ta worry about speeding tickets,” Raph said.  “Glad ta see ya’ weren’t tempted ta talk ta any of those people who just walked by.”

            He saw Bishop step back and look around before the man asked, _“Camera?”_

            “I said I’d be watching,” Raph reminded him.  “Take off your jacket and leave it on the bike.  Don’t bother taking anything out of the pockets ‘cause I’ll see if ya’ do.”

            Bishop set the phone down and slipped out of his jacket, draping it across the seat of the motorcycle.  Lifting the receiver again, he said, _“Done.”_

            “Now your shirt,” Raph said.  “Take it completely off, shake it out, and hang it on the booth.  Then I want ya’ ta turn your pockets out and leave the lining hanging on the outside.  After ya’ do that I want ya’ ta take two steps back, lift your arms, and turn around slowly.”

            The agent did as instructed, seemingly unconcerned at having to strip in the middle of a not very deserted city block.  His pockets were empty save for a few folded bills and Raph wondered if he normally carried nothing on his person, or if he’d anticipated the turtle’s request.  A couple who were approaching Bishop took one look and veered off to the other side of the street.

            Lifting his hands high, Bishop pivoted, giving Raph an excellent view of his upper body.  There was nothing in his waist band nor attached to his skin.

            When Bishop came back on the line, Raph said, “Ya’ can put your shirt back on but don’t go near the motorcycle again.  Go ta the end of the street and hail a cab.  There’s a pay phone on the corner of Varick and 55th, have the cabbie take ya’ there and then get rid of him.  I’ll call it when I see ya.”

            Raph disconnected the call but continued to watch his monitor.  Bishop immediately walked away from his motorcycle without another glance at it and was soon out of range of Raph’s camera.

            It wasn’t long before a cab pulled up in front of the phone on Varick Street.  Raph was watching the feed from his second camera as Bishop stepped out of the cab, handed the driver a bill, and dismissed him.

            With a mischievous grin, Raph dialed the pay phone while Bishop was still standing in the street.  His hopes of making Bishop miss answering the call on the second ring vanished as the man quickly spun and lunged for the phone.  Maybe Bishop was just obsessive compulsive.

            _“Am I to go on foot from this point?”_ Bishop asked, his voice steady.

            Raph had to chuckle despite the tension he was feeling.  “I see ya’ watch action movies too.  Ya’ remember that abandoned building on Lex?  It’s four blocks from where you’re at, go ahead and jog there, it shouldn’t take ya’ but a couple of minutes.”

            _“Seventh floor?”_ Bishop asked.

            “Why not?  Just for old times’ sake,” Raph said and hung up.

            Dropping the burner phone to the ground, Raph stomped on it, crushing it into tiny pieces.  Doing so gave him a small frisson of pleasure; it was another step towards closure.

            Raph waited on the roof top across the street from the abandoned building.  He spotted Bishop almost immediately, watching as the man jogged around to the side of the building and gained access through a service entrance.

            As Bishop had done the first night they met, once Raph was inside room seven twelve he backed into a shadowed corner and waited.  Only the fact that his hearing was superior to that of the normal human was Raph able to pick out the sound of Bishop’s footfalls as he drew near.

            When Bishop stepped into the room he instantly looked towards the corner, expecting to find Raph there.  Not a hair was out of place on the man’s head, his shirt unrumpled and his tie on straight.  Bishop was even wearing his glasses, but he removed them as soon as Raph came out into the light.

            “You do know that if I’d actually meant to do you harm, your safety measures would have been ineffectual,” Bishop said.

            “Sure, I know that,” Raph said.  “They weren’t meant ta keep ya’ honest, they were my way of reading ya’.  If my gut had said something was wrong, you’d be standing in this room by yourself.”

            “Trusting your emotions?” Bishop asked.

            “They’ve gotten me this far in life,” Raph answered.  “Ya’ once told me it was partly my instincts that drew your attention and I’m just following them the way I usually do.  My instincts are what told me that we ain’t a match.  Other than great sex and longevity, we ain’t got too much in common.”

            “Directly to the point,” Bishop said.  “That is one of the things I’ve always admired about you.  We are both men of action, one of the many traits that we share.  I would beg to differ on your assertion that we have very few instances of commonality.”

            “And we’ve got one big difference,” Raph said, brushing aside Bishop’s suave assurances.  “If we were together I’d always worry that if I fell asleep after sex that I’d wake up alone in a cage the next morning.  There’s no getting around the track record that’s already between us.”

            Bishop studied him for a moment and Raph tried to read what was going on in the man’s mind.  His deep black eyes were hypnotic and Raph found that he couldn’t look into them for long without experiencing the man’s sensual pull.

            “Perhaps I have made a mistake in my assessment of your character,” Bishop said, moving a few steps closer to Raph before stopping when he saw the turtle tense up.  “I was sure that behaving as an aggressor would be off-putting; that by allowing you to decide how our interactions would proceed I could entice you into becoming attracted to me and even to learn to show me some trust.”

            “Trust is damn hard ta come by when you’re talking ta a man that once tried ta turn your brother into sushi,” Raph said.

            “It seems my shortcomings are doomed to haunt me,” Bishop said with a touch of whimsy.  “I should not have tried so hard to be completely different from what your expectations of me were.  I wonder now if you wouldn’t prefer to have more balance in our relationship.  If I once showed you that my natural dominance did not necessarily lead to an unwanted outcome, you might find you have more faith in me.”

            “I ain’t the only one in this equation, Bishop,” Raph said, worried as to where the man was headed with that speech.  “My brothers don’t know about us; they can’t know about us.  That’s part of the problem.  Even if I could find a way ta forget about the trust issue, my family couldn’t.  They’re always gonna come first.  That doesn’t make this a very level playing field for us.  If we were together for a year before they found out and they said I had ta dump ya’, then I would.  I’m just being honest.  Ya’ ain’t ever gonna be considered a part of the family.”

            Once again Bishop’s probing eyes seemed to be trying to turn Raph inside out.  “It’s important to you that whoever you are with should fit into your family?”

            “Of course it is,” Raph said with a touch of exasperation.  “You’re the one who commented on the function of my family.  We ain’t gonna keep working like a well-oiled machine for very long if one of us takes a lover the others can’t stand.”

            “Have you possibly found someone else who better qualifies for the position?” Bishop asked suddenly.

            Raph felt a cold chill run across his spine.  The last thing he wanted to do was have Bishop on the trail of either Casey or Ryan.

            “That ain’t even a question you’ve got a right ta ask,” Raph said distinctly and with as much ice in his voice as he could muster.

            “My apologies,” Bishop said swiftly.  “I told you before that I don’t feel jealousy, I was merely curious.  Forgive my inquisitive nature, but I can’t help but wonder if you are doing your brothers.”

            “What the fuck?” Raph yelped, the question nearly knocking him on his ass.  “Hell no!  Why would ya’ even think that?”

            Bishop patted the air in an effort to calm the agitated turtle.  “My inquiry was not meant to upset you,” he said.  “After I initially met the four of you I spent some time researching turtles.  That was only natural of course.  Your devotion to family sent my memory back to some of the things I had read.  That coupled with the knowledge that you are the only ones of your kind and that you are all males led me to wonder, that is all.”

            “Holy shit,” Raph muttered.  “Why the fuck am I still in this room?  I delivered my message and I did it in person ‘cause it was the honorable thing ta do.  I ain’t gotta listen ta anymore of this crap.”

            “Wait, please,” Bishop pleaded, gliding forward so quickly that Raph didn’t have time to react.  Placing his arms around Raph, Bishop pressed up against him.  “Let me assume the dominant role and prove to you how enjoyable this can be.”

            Raph tried to pull out of his grip, only to discover that Bishop’s arms were like a steel trap.

            “Cut it out,” Raph growled.  “This ain’t doing it for me.”

            “We’ve only just begun,” Bishop whispered hoarsely.  “I can make all of your fantasies come true, Raphael.”

            “I ain’t got any . . . mph!”  Raph’s protests were cut off as Bishop’s lips descended on his and the agent’s tongue pushed into his mouth.

            The more Raph struggled, the tighter Bishop held him, one hand snaking up behind the turtle’s head.  Raph couldn’t even break the kiss now that Bishop held him rigidly in place.

            There was an unexpected sound of breaking glass behind them and then a familiar voice cut through the room, its strident ring echoing off the surrounding walls.

            “Get your stinkin’ mouth off of my friend!”

TBC……………..


	22. Chapter 22

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Word Count: 4,077 multi-chapter 2k3 verse  
> Summary: Raphael has a secret admirer - or two.  
> Rating p22: R  
> Pairing: Casey/Raph/Casey, Bishop/Raph/Bishop, Ryan/Raph/Ryan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Preview art by the imaginative Dragona15 on deviantArt. Sort of a mesh between this chapter & chapter 6 (the discussion regarding guns). ;)  
> 

            Raph managed to twist out of a startled Bishop’s grasp as Casey Jones came barreling through the unopened second window.  Turning sideways, Raph brought a halt to Casey’s charge by virtue of standing between him and his target.

            For his part, Bishop stood his ground, unflinching in the face of Casey’s violent onslaught.

            “Keep your mitts off him ya’ psychopath!” Casey shouted angrily.

            “The only psychopath in this room is you,” Bishop retorted, his voice sharp.

            “Ya’ think I don’t remember ya’ Bishop?  Ya’ tried ta dissect my friends,” Casey snarled, lunging at the annoyed agent.

            “Maybe you’d prefer it if I took you apart,” Bishop threatened.

            “I dare ya’ ta try,” Casey snapped.  “Ya’ better call your goon squad ta back ya’ up.”

            Raph found himself caught between the men, his shoulders compressed by their weight as they leaned into him, growling and staring daggers at each other.  Neither was giving ground and the situation was becoming untenable.

            Knowing they were both working themselves into a frenzy, Raph placed two of his fingers in the corners of his mouth and whistled, as hard and loud as he could.

            Bishop and Casey reacted simultaneously, both grimacing and jerking back from the shrill sound.  No longer smashed between them, Raph planted the palms of his hands firmly against the men’s chests, pushing them farther away from each other.

            “I ain’t gonna stand here all night like some damn statue ta keep ya’ from yapping at each other,” Raph announced in a no-nonsense tone of voice.  “Both of ya’ go ta your corners right now so we can sort this shit out.”

            Each of the men continued to glare at the other until Raph gave them a shove to get them moving.  Both men walked backwards until they touched opposite walls, neither backing down from their staring contest.

            Remaining in the center of the room, Raph looked from one to the other, assuring himself that they wouldn’t move.  When his eyes got to Casey, his friend started to say something but Raph’s growl made him stop.

            “How the hell did ya’ find me here?” Raph demanded angrily.

            “I ain’t had much ta do today but think about stuff,” Casey said.  “I remembered what Mikey said when he called me night before last; about how no one knew where you’d been going.”

            “Dammit Casey,” Raph said, “I told ya’ about that jealous sh . . . .”

            “It’s not about that,” Casey said quickly, interrupting him.  “I’m getting my head on straight like ya’ said I should.  This was me worrying that my hot headed pal was off maybe doing some crime fighting crap on his own.  I got to thinking that ya’ were into something that Leo wouldn’t approve of and if so ya’ didn’t have any backup.”

            Bishop made a small sound in his throat and Casey glared at him before turning his attention back to Raph.

            “So ya’ got nosy,” Raph said, prompting him to continue.

            “Hey, I’m the one ya’ usually call when you’re into something your brothers would give ya’ a hard time over,” Casey said defensively.  “I figured ya’ didn’t call this time ‘cause we’d tried the friends with benefits shit and it made ya’ too uncomfortable ta be around me.  If we’re gonna go back ta the way things were, then ya’ needed ta know I could still be there ta watch your back.”

            Suddenly Bishop began to laugh, drawing Raph’s eyes back to him.

            “You and Jones?  Oh, that is rich!” Bishop chortled in amusement.

            “Me and Jones nothing,” Raph growled.  “Casey’s lost his mind and I’m tired of trying ta find it for him.”

            “I got that Raph, cut me some slack,” Casey said imploringly.  Once Raph was looking at him again, he continued his explanation.  “I know a couple of buildings that give me a good view of the area around the lair, so I hung out on one of them.  I didn’t see where ya’ came out from, but I did see ya’ running across roof tops so I followed.

            “I ain’t a ninja so I couldn’t get close without having ya’ see me.  I lost sight of ya’ a couple of times but I did see when ya’ went into this building.  When ya’ left after just a few minutes ya’ disappeared so fast I didn’t see where ya’ went but I had a feeling about this place so I just stayed put.”

            “And ya’ saw me come back again,” Raph said, displeased with himself for not realizing he was being watched.

            “Yeah,” Casey acknowledged.  “Ya’ spent even more time inside the second go-round and when ya’ left there was a light showing through a window on this floor.”

            “Then ya’ figured if there was a light that I was probably gonna come back again,” Raph said.

            Casey nodded.  “It wasn’t too long after ya’ came back the third time that I saw Bishop enter the building.”  His voice was cold as he practically spat out the agent’s name.  “That had me freaking the hell out pal.  There was no way him being anywhere around could mean anything good.  I figured he had his goon squad downstairs, so I had ta climb down the side of the building from the roof ta get here and then it took me some time ta find the right room.  I got here right when he grabbed ya’ and I busted in ta help get him off of ya’.”

            “Yeah, that rescue wouldn’t have been dramatic enough if you’d used the open window,” Raph said sarcastically.

            Casey stepped away from the wall and pointed at Bishop.  “Why the hell was that man kissing you?  He’s an enemy, Raph!  Ya’ told me there wasn’t anyone else but I know what I saw.  Have ya’ been with him too?  Is that why ya’ said we weren’t gonna work out?”

            “Maybe you weren’t good enough to satisfy him,” Bishop offered in an unctuous tone of voice.

            When Casey’s shoulders tensed, Raph snapped at Bishop, “Shut up!  That ain’t helpful.”  Turning back to Casey, he said, “We don’t work like that for exactly the reasons I told ya’.  None of it had ta do with Bishop.”

            “If you want to be with your friend you needn’t ditch me,” Bishop said smoothly.  “I told you that I have no problem with sharing.”

            “How about I share my fist with your face?” Casey snarled, shaking his fist in Bishop’s direction for emphasis.

            “Didn’t I make enough of a fool out of you the last time we fought?” Bishop sneered, also moving away from his designated spot against the wall.

            “Shut the fuck up both of ya’!” Raph demanded.  “This is a whole lot of useless bickering that ain’t getting us anywhere.”  Turning his attention on Bishop, Raph said, “You’ve got a nasty habit of trying ta manipulate every situation.  I told ya’ that trust is an issue for us but that ain’t all, some of it is this need ya’ have ta control everything.”

            “I thought I proved that I am capable of taking a more submissive role,” Bishop said.

            “Being submissive in the sack doesn’t mean giving up control,” Raph countered.  “See, I don’t have much experience, but I learn fast.  When something doesn’t seem right, I learn even faster.  Even when ya’ play act at being submissive you’re steering things the way you want them ta go.  There ain’t no spontaneity involved.”

            “That is one of the things about my humanity that I am trying to recover,” Bishop explained.

            “Recover it with somebody else,” Raph snapped.  “I ain’t your therapist.  I told Casey and I’m telling you; I ain’t gonna settle for less than what I want, even if I don’t ever find anyone ta be with.”

            “Was that what our trysts were about for you, Raphael?  A learning experience?  Let me guess, you fucked me in order to learn how and you allowed Jones here to fuck you so that you could experience sex from every direction.  Am I far off?” Bishop asked.

            “I’m sure ya’ offered up your ass ‘cause ya’ wanted ta help me out with that,” Raph responded acerbically.

            “Ya’ fucked Bishop?” Casey practically screeched.  “Are ya’ crazy?  Did ya’ forget how he had ya’ strapped ta a table not too long ago ready ta saw your arms and legs off?”

            “I don’t have ta explain . . . .” Raph began.

            “I am not the same man that I was back then,” Bishop interrupted hotly.  “Raphael would not have come near me if I hadn’t convinced him I’d changed.”

            “I heard how ya’ convinced him,” Casey retorted.  “He’s still a teenager and he didn’t have any experience, so ya’ offered up something he didn’t think he’d get anywhere else.  You’re old enough ta fucking know better.”

            “Are you lecturing me on the subject of cradle robbery?” Bishop jeered.  “You are likewise well past the age of consent.  Does Miss O’Neil know that you’ve acquired a taste for your best friend’s ass?”

            “Me and April ain’t together no more!” Casey shouted at the man.

            Bishop laughed.  “Ah, so she found out about your cheating and turned you loose.  I’ve always known she had better sense than to be with you.  Miss O’Neil strikes me as a classy woman.”

            “That ain’t what happened,” Casey insisted fiercely.  “I ain’t gonna explain my love life ta the likes of you.  Why the hell are ya’ chasing after Raph anyway?  There’s got ta be at least a hundred men and woman working for ya’ who’d be happy ta fuck ya’.”

            “Unlike you, I am not merely looking for a warm hole to stick my dick into,” Bishop said haughtily.

            They continued on like that, sniping at each other with Raph standing between them.  At some point he stopped listening to their words because it was the same thing over and over.

            Raph remembered watching a movie once where some woman had two men after her and they got into a conflict much like the one he was at the center of at the moment.  He thought at the time that the woman looked a little smug and Raph figured she was secretly pleased with herself for having two guys willing to fight for her affections.

            Now Raph wondered if what he’d taken to be a smug look wasn’t actually the woman being sick to her stomach.  If he recalled the plot correctly, she’d yelled at them to stop and then run off.

            That was exactly what Raph felt like doing; walking out of the room and going for a long run.  He had no idea what Bishop and Casey would do if he left, probably get into a brawl.  Casey would get his ass kicked and be even more upset over being alone and Bishop would keep trying to track Raph down in order to convince him that he should be given a second chance.

            Raph sure as hell didn’t need Bishop hot on his tail, literally.  At some point Bishop would abandon prudence and make an appearance in front of Raph’s brothers.  That would be a fine mess all of the way around.

            While Raph contemplated his options for getting out of the situation he found himself in, Bishop and Casey were not only still arguing, but they were drifting closer to each other again.  As much as Raph would like to think his charms were worth the effort, he decided that ego on their parts was as much to blame.  If there was one thing they had in common, it was an inability to give up.

            Well, two things actually.  Both of them saw traits in Raph that appealed to them.  Casey was probably being narcissistic in choosing someone whose personality was so similar to his own.  Bishop wanted someone who could warm up his cold ass blood again; someone with Raph’s brand of fiery passion.

            “The fact that you are his friend is no testament that your claim to Raphael’s affections are more valid than mine,” Bishop argued.  “If anything, that would abrogate your desires to be with him physically because you could destroy your previous attachment.”

            “Why should I have ta stay in the friend zone if ya’ don’t have to stick ta being his enemy?” Casey asked.  “I’ll bet ya’ don’t even know what kind of beer he likes.”

            It was damn hard for Raph to resist the urge to pound his head against a wall.  The two men’s arguments were degenerating quickly to the point where they probably didn’t know why they were even fighting.  It was starting to sound as if they were actually enjoying themselves; Casey certainly needed an opportunity like this to vent his frustrations and Bishop’s was reacting with more emotion than Raph had ever seen him show.

            An idea suddenly hit Raph so hard that he jerked into a more alert stance.  It was wild and crazy as hell, but he decided to run with it anyway because Raph always trusted his gut instincts.

            “Bishop!” Raph said loudly, getting the man’s attention.  “Tell me again why ya’ wanted us ta be together?”

            The agent looked surprised by the question but answered readily enough.  “Because I see in you the heart that I used to have.  You have honor and passion, strength and empathy, tenacity and loyalty.  These are things of value; things that I once embraced.”

            Raph mulled that over for a moment, aware of Casey standing nearby.  His friend was silent now, perhaps somewhat stunned at hearing Bishop speak in such an idealistic fashion.

            “So it never bothered ya’ that I’m rude, crude, and kind of vulgar sometimes?” Raph asked.  “Ya’ don’t care that I’d rather kick butt than wait around for someone else ta deal with this cities problems?”

            “I told you before that your passions are what drew me to you,” Bishop answered.  “The fact that you are so very much alive is what excites me.”

            “But I ain’t the only one in this room who’s like that,” Raph said, jerking a thumb in Casey’s direction.  “Casey here is just like me; hell, he’s almost my human clone.”

            Raph’s words dropped like a lead weight in the center of the room.  Both men stared at him in astonishment before glancing at each other and then back at Raph.

            “Jones?” Bishop asked incredulously, finding his voice first.  “Certainly you are not proposing a substitution.”

            “What the hell, Raph,” Casey burst out.  “Are ya’ trying to shove me off on Bishop?”

            “I ain’t shoving anything,” Raph said.  “I’m offering up a suggestion.  Bishop, ya’ want someone who can shake your emotions awake again and help ya’ find your humanity.  Casey fits that bill better than me ‘cause he happens ta be human.”

            Looking at his friend, Raph said, “Casey, ya’ want someone who doesn’t need ta be pampered and can handle the rough stuff.  Tell me that ain’t Bishop down to a T.  He’s too damn goal oriented ta worry about shit like breakfast in bed.”

            They both started to talk at once.  “I require someone with a certain amount of discretion,” Bishop said.

            “Bishop and me ain’t got nothing in common,” Casey pronounced.

            Raph held up his hands to call for silence and was amazed when both men shut up.  They weren’t eyeing each other with active dislike anymore and Raph wondered if they actually wanted to be convinced.

            “They don’t come any more discreet than Casey,” Raph told the agent.  “He’s been a vigilante for years and ain’t never been arrested.  He knows how not ta be seen and he sure as shit knows when ta keep his mouth closed.  He’s running buddies with a six-foot tall talking turtle and not a single damn person knows about it.”

            Shifting his eyes over to Casey, Raph said, “Bishop’s number one goal in life is ta protect the Earth from invasion, how is that any different from ya’ wanting ta protect New York from the Purple Dragons?  Ya’ both have that guardian instinct.”

            “His methods stink,” Casey said.

            “So did yours when we first met,” Raph said.  “I had to show ya’ that ya’ couldn’t go so far; that ya’ had ta control your temper.  Bishop’s got the opposite problem; he’s buried his feelings so deep he’s lost sight of right and wrong.  He’s looking for someone ta give him moral character again.”

            “Jones is human, as you so aptly pointed out,” Bishop said.  “I don’t want to lose someone due to old age, a problem that you and I won’t have.”

            “You’re the one with all the fancy expensive gizmos that ya’ use ta give yourself a fresh body,” Raph reminded him meaningfully.  “You the only one that works on?”

            This time when Bishop looked at Casey there was no sign of dislike on his face.  Casey stared back at him with something akin to curiosity.

            “So tell me Jones, would you like to live forever?” Bishop asked.

            “Can’t say I ever thought about it,” Casey admitted.  Scratching his head, he said, “I know Don said something about how they were gonna live a long time.  It didn’t really sink in that they’d outlive me.”

            “They will outlive all of their adversaries as well,” Bishop told him.  “That is a victory in and of itself.”

            “Since we’re on the subject, I gotta give ya’ one thing, ya’ can sure hold your own in a fight,” Casey said grudgingly.

            Bishop’s eyebrow lifted.  “Hold my own?  I assure you, I can do better than that.”

            “Ya’ like yourself, don’t ya’?” Casey asked in a tone that was more teasing than it was mocking.

            “My ego is intact,” Bishop said smoothly.  “From what I’ve seen, you are not lacking in confidence either.”

            “I can dish it out and I can take it,” Casey said, his eyes locked on Bishop’s.

            For a moment Raph wondered if his friend realized there was a double meaning to his words.  Seeing a glimmer in Bishop’s eyes, Raph got the feeling they both knew it.

            “Is that a boast?” Bishop asked.  “Raphael has a certain degree of stamina that I find titillating.”

            “Yeah?  Ya’ know what I find exciting?  His tail.  Bet ya’ ain’t got one of those,” Casey announced as though he’d just scored some kind of point.

            Raph was beginning to feel like a prime piece of meat hanging in a market window.  “How about the next time Bishop designs himself a new body, he gives himself a tail if ya’ want one ta play with so badly.”

            Bishop grinned, adjusting his tie as he said, “Raphael does have a point.  There is little I cannot do.”

            “Ya’ bragging or complaining?” Casey asked.  “How much of what ya’ can do have ya’ shown Raph?”

            “He hasn’t seen even a tenth of my skills,” Bishop answered.  “It isn’t bragging; I deal only in facts.”

            “I’ve got your facts hanging right here,” Casey said, grabbing his crotch.

            There was a distinct challenge in that statement which brought a sly smile to Bishop’s face.  Raph slid backwards, moving out from between them slowly enough not to draw their attention off of each other.

            “Raphael was correct, you are as crude as he,” Bishop said.  “What do you do when you want to show yourself a good time?”

            “Ya’ mean outside of busting skulls?” Casey asked.  “I take in a hockey game, usually by myself.  Hockey ain’t a ‘sit quiet and don’t draw attention ta yourself’ kind of sport.”

            “I take it that your raucous enjoyment was not appreciated by Miss O’Neil,” Bishop said.

            “Most women don’t like raucous enjoyment,” Casey told him.  “They don’t like ta hear ya’ burp, they don’t want ya’ ta scratch when ya’ itch, and they want foreplay when all ya’ want ta do is fuck.”

            “You are a man who knows what he likes,” Bishop said.  “It so happens I also have a fondness for hockey and season tickets to the Garden; box seats I might add.”

            “Ya’ like hockey?” Casey asked with real surprise.  “Why the hell didn’t ya’ ever say so?  Why’d ya’ wanna spend all your time chasing after the guys when ya’ could’ve been hanging out with us?”

            “I was operating under the mistaken impression that my time would be better spent creating super soldiers and obsessing over the concept of an alien invasion,” Bishop said.

            “Ya’ really did need ta get laid,” Casey said.  “What’s the point of living forever if ya’ don’t have any fun doing it?”

            “Living forever wasn’t exactly my choice,” Bishop responded dryly.

            “That don’t mean ya’ can’t make the best of it,” Casey countered.  “I got some deep seated resentment too, over shit that happened ta me and my old man back when I was a kid.  Raph helped me learn that payback’s a bitch on both sides.  I might’ve been taking down bad guys when I went out hunting, but I was losing some of me in the process.  That’s exactly what happened ta that humanity ya’ was talking about trying to get back.”

            Bishop was looking at Casey with genuine astonishment.  “I did not expect that you of all people could relate so well to that aspect of my life.”

            “Maybe that’s ‘cause ya’ were too busy judging a book by its cover,” Casey said.

            “Actually, I don’t find the ‘cover’ to be at all displeasing,” Bishop said, raking his eyes over Casey’s body.

            Raph had made it all the way over to the open window without either of the men paying any attention to him.  Even though he’d been the one to get this matchup going, he was still astounded by how quickly Casey and Bishop had taken to each other.

            As loath as he was to say anything, Raph didn’t want to leave without gauging Casey’s comfort level at being alone with Bishop.

            “I’m cutting out,” Raph said.  “All I came here ta do was tell ya’ we were quits, Bishop.  Ya’ said ya’ could handle that with no hard feelings if that’s the way I wanted ta go with this.  Is your word good?”

            “It is,” Bishop said, turning his attention to the turtle.  “I would have borne you no ill will just as I promised.  Re-introducing me to Jones was not necessary but I must admit it is proving to be . . . intriguing.”

            “Ya’ okay Case or do ya’ want me ta walk ya’ home?” Raph asked.

            “Don’t worry about me buddy,” Casey said with a cocky grin.  “I can handle anything Bishop throws at me.  He ain’t gonna get me ta spill stuff he don’t need ta know about either.”

            “I will have to find a way to get past the trust issues people seem to have with me,” Bishop murmured, a half smile turning up the corners of his mouth.  “Perhaps in the future, say a hundred years from now, you won’t be so distrustful of me Raphael.  It would be interesting to try and rekindle something then, possibly with the three of us.”

            “Damn, ya’ got a kinky streak don’t ya’?” Casey asked, turning his attention wholly on Bishop.  “Is that one of those skills ya’ was talking about?”

            “The night is young,” Bishop told him.  “Talking about skills isn’t nearly as enjoyable as demonstrating them.”

            “Oh yeah?” Casey asked, drawing closer to the man.  “Why don’t ya’ give me your best shot?”

            Bishop’s hands curved around Casey’s hips and he pulled the vigilante up against him.

            “I always have enjoyed a good challenge,” Bishop husked as Casey’s mouth dropped over his.

            Raph wasted no more time getting the hell out of that room.  Those two were moving damn fast, but that seemed to be just another trait the pair had in common.

            Bounding across roof tops on his way back to the lair, Raph felt like the weight of the world had been lifted off his shell.  Due to his quick thinking, Casey had found someone better suited to his temperament and Bishop was with a man who would be far superior to Raph in giving the agent what he’d been searching for.

            Raph now had a clear path to Saturday and the man he felt most comfortable with.  The words to an old song filled his head and with a big grin he started singing.

            _“The future’s so bright, I gotta wear shades . . . .”_

TBC……………….


	23. Chapter 23

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Word Count: 6,718 multi-chapter 2k3 verse  
> Summary: Raphael has a secret admirer - or two.  
> Rating p23: R  
> Story Pairings: Casey/Raph/Casey, Bishop/Raph/Bishop, Ryan/Raph/Ryan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Preview image created by the amazing Dragona15 on DeviantArt.  
> 

            The notes were gone, burned to ashes, their existence fading to nothing more than a fond memory.

            Raph would forget the words, but their impact would linger on and for that he was thankful.  Those notes had awakened feelings that had helped define a part of him which had been dormant.  Without the notes, an entire chain of events would never have occurred, Raph would never have known he was gay, and he’d never have connected with Ryan Bridge.

            The hot headed turtle loved his brothers but he’d given up on ever knowing what it would feel like to be _in_ love.  Raph couldn’t really say that’s what he was experiencing yet, after all, he and Ryan hadn’t spent all that much time together.

           What Raph did know was that being with Ryan made him feel warm and alive, rather than simply hot and bothered.  Maybe that was a fine distinction, but the latter was all he’d felt with Bishop and Casey and therefore it didn’t seem special.  Every minute that Raph spent with Ryan did.

           Tomorrow was his big day out with Ryan, and Raph was already feeling eager, his anticipation building.  He still had today to get through though and Raph knew from experience that lying around would make the day seem like it was dragging by.

           Rolling out of his hammock, Raph pulled on his gear and then dug out his shell cell.  The first thing on his agenda was to make sure that Casey was all right.

           The scent of cooking that wafted up to him assured Raph that he needn’t worry about Mikey eavesdropping on his conversation.  Tapping his friend’s number into the phone, Raph counted the rings coming from the other end, keeping his fingers crossed.

            _“What?”_ Casey answered with characteristic ill humor.

           Raph was relieved enough at the sound of Casey’s voice to laugh.  “Good morning, sunshine,” he said, purposely sounding as chipper as possible.  “When did ya’ get in?”

            _“Late,”_ Casey said after clearing his throat.  _“Good thing I ain’t got anyplace ta be this morning.”_

           Surprised that his friend seemed more awake and less grouchy now, Raph asked, “So no problems last night?”

            _“Not a one,”_ Casey explained.  _“Me and John talked some after ya’ left.  He ain’t too bad once ya’ get past that pompous exterior.”_

           “John?”  Raph said in a slightly teasing tone.  “Is talking all ya’ did?”

            _“Hey pal, I don’t kiss and tell,”_ Casey replied, sounding happy; happier even than when he was with Raph.  _“We’re planning on seeing each other again tonight, but this time he’s coming over ta my place ‘cause I don’t have ta hide where I live and I like having home field advantage.”_

            “Ya’ gonna clean up that rat trap?” Raph asked.

            _“It’s still clean from when I had you over,”_ Casey said.  _“I ain’t making no more special efforts; this time I’m just gonna be me.  That’s something I learned from ya’.  Either he likes me the way I am or it ain’t gonna work.  I get the feeling that me being a neat freak ain’t what John needs.”_

            It was strange hearing Casey refer to Bishop as ‘John’ but Raph had an idea that he was going to have to get used to it.  “So you’re feeling okay about Bishop?” he asked.  “I didn’t plan on putting the two of ya’ together, it just kinda happened.  After I left I worried that I’d shoved ya’ in harm’s way.”

            Casey snorted.  _“Shit Raph, after all these years hunting gangs I know when someone’s trying ta play me.  Why the hell would he jack with me anyway?  I ain’t no use ta him.  If he wanted ta capture the four of ya’ again, he already missed a prime opportunity.”_

            “Yeah, I guess that’s true,” Raph said slowly.

            _“Don’t sweat it,”_ Casey told him.  _“Ya’ didn’t put a mojo on me; I started up with John of my own free will.”_

            “Ya’ sure ya’ ain’t moving too fast?” Raph asked.

            _“Now ya’ sound like my mom,”_ Casey said with a laugh.  _“Just so ya’ don’t worry, he ain’t ever gonna find out anything about your family from me.  I’m gonna keep him focused on aliens.  Hell, John even offered ta pick up Hun on suspicion of being an enemy agent.”_

            Now it was Raph’s turn to laugh.  “Are ya’ shitting me?  What did ya’ say?”

            _“I told him no but thanks.  I said that the fun of taking Hun down belongs ta you and me.”_ Casey responded.

            “It’s probably best not ta owe Bishop anything,” Raph said musingly.

            _“I had that exact same thought,”_ Casey said.  _“I even told John that.  I told him we had ta keep things balanced between us.  That way I don’t feel like he’s using me and he don’t feel like I’m taking advantage of his clout.”_

            “You’re a lot smarter than ya’ look,” Raph said, kidding his friend.

            _“Somebody has ta take up your slack,”_ Casey shot back at him.

            Raph grew serious again as he said, “This sounds like a good thing for ya’, but do me a favor and keep in touch, okay?”

            _“I will ‘mom’,”_ Casey said.  _“Look, I wanna thank ya’ for suggesting me and John give it a try; he’s the kind of challenge I like.  I hope ya’ can find someone ta be with too, Raph.  I know ya’ said ya’ ain’t gonna settle for less than what ya’ want.  I’ll bet there’s somebody out there for ya’.”_

            “With any luck I scored some karma points with this good deed,” Raph said lightly.  “Who knows, maybe I can cash them in some day and get my shot at something good.”

            _“It’ll happen,”_ Casey said with easy assurance.  _“Are ya’ done with the twenty questions now?  I need my beauty sleep.”_

            “Ya’ sure as shell do,” Raph quipped.  “Later pal.”

            Casey hung up and Raph let out a long sigh of relief.  He’d wait on telling Casey about Ryan; at least until he was sure that Casey and Bishop were working out okay.  Raph amended that; he’d wait until he also knew that he and Ryan had something worth talking about.

            The smells coming up from the kitchen had gotten stronger and Raph’s stomach rumbled in response.  Whatever Mikey was throwing together promised to be much more appetizing than the usual bacon and eggs, or a cold bowl of cereal.

            Raph made a beeline for the kitchen, intent on claiming his share of the morning feast.  When he got there, Raph saw that calling it a feast wasn’t far off the mark.

            Spread out on the table was a traditional Japanese breakfast.  There was steamed rice, Miso soup, Natto, Tamagoyaki, broiled salmon, and Tsukemono.  Mikey had gone all out and Raph guessed that he’d been cooking for a couple of hours.

            The rest of his family was already seated at the table and Raph quickly joined them.  As soon as Raph sat down, Mikey brought a kettle of green tea over and poured it out, trading smiles with Leo as he filled his older brother’s cup.

            Raph found himself staring as the smile lingered on Leo’s face, his eyes following Mikey’s movements.  With sudden clarity, Raph realized the sumptuous breakfast was for Leo’s benefit.  From the way his oldest brother dug in to the meal, it was easy to see that he was dutifully impressed.

            Mikey took a seat next to Leo, watching as his brother savored the food.  Although the rest of the family offered words of praise for the meal, the only ones Mikey seemed to hear were from Leo.

            No one else appeared perturbed by those two fawning over each other and Raph decided to ignore it as well.  If Leo and Mikey had decided to be best buddies that could only make Raph’s life a shell of a lot easier.

            The traditional breakfast had the advantage of putting Master Splinter into a mellow mood and practice consisted almost entirely of verbal lessons.  That in turn made Leo even happier than he already was because he exceled when it came to questions of Bushido and its practical applications.

            Things were even better when Master Splinter told Raph and Mikey they were excused from their extra training and the additional hour of meditation.  When Master Splinter left the dojo, Raph expected to see Mikey make a beeline for his room in case their father changed his mind.  Instead, Mikey remained in the dojo, sparring with Leo at the leader’s request.

            With his mind attempting to fathom that oddity, Raph headed over to the weight bench, intent on doing a few reps.  Don called to him before he could get started.

            “Hey, if you’re in the mood to lift something, I could use a little help getting some stuff out of the back of the van,” Don said.

            Raph wasn’t sure if Don really needed the help or if he wanted to talk, but either way Raph was happy to oblige him.  Leo’s enthusiasm over Mikey’s fighting technique was starting to become a little nauseating.

            Neither said anything during their ride up to the garage in the elevator, but the atmosphere wasn’t tense.  Don was actually humming to himself, the sound low and melodious and rather soothing.  Raph had heard Don sing on occasion, when he thought no one was listening, and his genius brother had a damn good voice.

            “Ya’ must have gotten laid last night,” Raph said in a jocular tone.

            “Don’t be irreverent,” Don scolded lightly.

            “Since I don’t know what that means, we’ll pretend I ain’t,” Raph shot back with a laugh.

            Don grinned as he pulled open the van’s back doors.  Inside were boxes filled with parts; electrical components, hardware, computer parts, wires, tools, even paint.

            Looking at the array with wide eyes, Raph asked, “Where the shell did ya’ get all this stuff?”

            “I hacked into shipment manifests for the junkyards in our vicinity,” Don explained.  “When they get a consignment of stuff, I can jump on it before they get it all sorted out.  They never know it’s been picked over because the manifest only says stuff like ‘fourteen boxes assorted nails’, or ‘half-truck used tires’.  Speaking of tires, there are some underneath the boxes.”

            As he pulled a box towards him, Raph asked, “Where are we putting it all?”

            Don pointed behind him.  “Stack it against that wall over there.  I’ll sort and catalogue everything later.”

            “How ya’ have time for a girlfriend is more than I can figure,” Raph muttered.

            “That’s why I love April,” Don said, even though Raph’s comment was basically rhetorical.  “She’s strong and independent.  She runs a business and so do I, in a manner of speaking.  We’re good together because we can be apart without harmful ramifications.”

            They both concentrated for a few minutes on moving boxes.  Raph had to admit it was as good a workout as he would have gotten downstairs; his brother had crammed as much into each box as he possibly could and they were heavy.

            “I’m going fishing with Ryan tomorrow,” Raph suddenly blurted out.  It took him a second to realize he was excited and wanted to talk about it and Don was the only one who would truly understand.

            Don looked up from the box he was pawing through.  “Night fishing?”

            Raph shook his head.  “We’re heading out early in the morning on Ryan’s boat.  He said we’ll go out far enough so that no one will be around us.”

            “You’re looking forward to it,” Don observed.

            “Yeah, I am,” Raph said, not bothering to hide his smile.

            “Do you need any gear?” Don asked.

            “Nah, Ryan has all that stuff,” Raph said.  “He and his business partner run the boat as a charter fishing service and do salvage work too.  The only thing I need ta bring is beer.”

            “A full day out in the sun?  Sounds like paradise,” Don said, walking over to the van and yanking out a couple of tires.  “If this thing with Ryan gets serious, when do you think you’ll tell Casey about him?”

            “That’s the hundred dollar question,” Raph answered.  “I talked ta Casey on the phone this morning and he sounded good.  He told me he ran into someone he used ta know and didn’t like, but this go round they clicked.”

            “Not Hun I hope,” Don said with a worried inflection.

            “What the hell is it with this family and Hun?” Raph asked.  “Anytime someone mentions a mystery guy, he’s the first one that comes ta mind.”

            Don started laughing.  “I guess it’s because he’s always lurking in the background somewhere.”

            “He can stay in the background too,” Raph said with disgust.  “It ain’t anyone from the Purple Dragons or any of the street gangs.  Casey still can’t stand them and never will.  All I know is if this works out the way it sounds like it might, Casey ain’t gonna care who I’m with.  And before ya’ ask, he knows ta keep us out of the equation.”

            “Questions about Casey’s loyalty have never come into play,” Don said.  “His good sense has, but that’s another story.”

            “He’s a regular bone head,” Raph agreed.

            “Does Master Splinter know about you and Ryan?” Don asked.

            Raph set the box he was carrying down.  “Yeah.  He knows about the fishing trip too.  All he said was that fresh fish sounded good.”

            “You’d better catch some for him then,” Don said with a chuckle.  “Speaking of food, let’s finish this up and have some lunch.  Mikey mentioned something about Onigiri and Udon.”

            “He really is trying to impress Leo,” Raph said.

            “You noticed that too, huh?  I’ll bet you’re glad he’s shifted targets,” Don said.

            “More than you’ll ever know,” Raph muttered.

            Lunch was a treat to the senses as well as the palate.  Whatever had gotten into Mikey, Raph hoped it would never leave.  As an added bonus, Leo chased everyone off afterwards, claiming that he’d help Mikey wash up.

            Raph reported to Master Splinter for his extra hour of meditation.  As he got comfortable on the floor mat across from his father he noticed that Master Splinter hadn’t lit any candles as per his usual routine.

            “Let us talk for a moment, Raphael,” Master Splinter said when he saw that he had his son’s attention.

            “Okay,” Raph said slowly, his thoughts tumbling over themselves in search of some transgression he might have committed unknowingly.

            “Michelangelo’s exuberant good humor has returned,” Master Splinter began.  “I can find no traces of his previous animosity or intense concern over your outside interests.  May I assume that you heeded my advice and restored the harmony in your relationship with your brother?”

            “We talked,” Raph confirmed.  “Master Splinter, did ya’ know that Mikey did all that stuff ‘cause he was worried that I was pulling away from my brothers?”

            “I sensed that was the underlying reason,” Master Splinter acknowledged.  “Michelangelo has excellent insight in that regard.  What you considered to be prying was in actuality his attempt to calm his own trepidation.”

            “He was hoping ta prove that he was wrong?” Raph asked in surprise.

            “Yes.  Your brother is not capable of taking things at face value; he requires proof.  Unfortunately his tenacity sometimes pushes him too far and he oversteps his boundaries, as he did with you.  No matter how concerned he was, he should not have violated your trust,” Master Splinter said.

            “I always said Mikey was hard headed,” Raph said with a shake of his head.

            “As are you all, to some degree,” Master Splinter said, his words touched with whimsy.  “During your conversation with Michelangelo, did you make him a promise to set his mind as ease?”

            Raph recalled the pained expression on Mikey’s face and how it had made his heart flip.  “Yeah sensei.  I told him he didn’t have anything ta worry about; that no matter what kind of outside relationship me and Don were in, we’d never forget about family.  I told him that ta me my bro’s come first.”

            “I trust that was more than a hollow promise?” Master Splinter asked.  “It is not difficult to see that you are particularly enamored of Ryan Bridge but could you forsake him if the need arose?”

            The question took Raph aback.  “I don’t know what ya’ mean by forsake.  I ain’t gonna dump him on a whim and I guess I’d have ta say that the need would have to be something like life or death.  I don’t usually spout about honor and such the way Leo does but that don’t mean I ain’t got some.  If Ryan wants something meaningful with me then I’m gonna give him the best I’ve got.”

            A smile touched the corners of Master Splinter’s mouth.  “You are being both truthful and true to yourself, Raphael.  I am happy to find that you have reasoned through your desires and come to a deeper understanding of them.”

            “It took me a while ta figure stuff out,” Raph admitted.  His thoughts turned to his assignations with both Bishop and Casey.  “I kinda went off the deep end at first and tried ta experience everything without worrying about what it meant.”

            “If my televised stories are any guide, that would appear to be quite normal for someone of your age and disposition,” Master Splinter said, his smile now more obvious.  “At least you are not a female and could not find yourself unexpectedly with child.”

            “Master Splinter!” Raph exclaimed, shocked that his father ever thought along those lines.  “What the shell have ya’ been watching?”

            His father chortled at Raph’s reaction.  “Perhaps this old rat is not as out of touch as you seem to think I am,” he responded, his dark eyes twinkling.  “Do you plan to spend the entire day tomorrow on the boat?”

            Raph blinked at how quickly Master Splinter shifted gears.  “Um, yeah.  We’ll set out before it’s light enough for anyone ta get a look at me and come back in when it’s dark again.  If another boat gets too close ta where we’re fishing, we’ll move.  I’ll watch my six.”

            “I have faith in your circumspection,” Master Splinter said.  Reaching over, he began to light the candles to either side of them.  “Shall we begin?  I am sure that Michelangelo is anxious for his opportunity to meditate.”

            Raph chuckled at the absurdity of that statement and settled himself, breathing deeply.  Finding his center and a place of tranquility within wasn’t at all difficult to do after his talk with his father.

            After another excellent meal prepared by Mikey with Leo’s assistance, the brother’s set out on patrol.  They spotted a group of Foot ninja and followed them to see what they were up to, but left off the chase when it became obvious they were returning to their base of operations, probably to tell Karai they hadn’t found the turtles.

            Two hours later the brothers happened upon a warehouse where the Purple Dragons were having a party.  Hun wasn’t there and since it appeared that most of the revelers were too falling down drunk to cause any trouble, Leo chose to leave them alone.  That was fine by Raph, he only liked a battle when the other person was able to actually fight.

            It didn’t mean that the Purple Dragons escaped totally unscathed.  Mikey had some fire crackers in his belt and after lighting them, dropped them through a skylight into the center of the party.

           Once the screaming and general inebriated panic died down, the Dragons all started accusing each other of setting off the fire crackers.  Leo pulled his team away at that point, scolding Mikey after they’d put a couple of blocks between themselves and the Dragons.  His rebuke was mild however and Leo was obviously as amused as the rest of his brothers.  Mikey claimed that he saw several of the gang wet themselves.

           In another hour they saw that some drug dealers had set up shop on a corner in a neighborhood the turtles had previously cleaned up.  After taking care with silent efficiency of the two lookouts, the brothers converged on the dealers.  Not only did they make short work of the men themselves, but the turtles also destroyed the drugs they were attempting to sell.  An entire trunk load of drugs, along with the car to which the trunk was attached.

           The resultant flames shot high enough to attract both police and fire units.  Leaving the dealers tied to a power pole, the four brothers escaped to the roof tops, celebrating with adrenaline fueled exuberance.

           Leo decided that they would call it a night and no one argued the point.  As they headed for the lair, Raph stopped them.

           “I phoned in an order to Pete’s bodega,” Raph said.  “We gotta swing by there before we go home.”

           “How much did you order?” Don asked.  “Should we get the van?”

           “Nah, it ain’t much,” Raph told him.  “We can carry it.”

           When they reached the bodega, the brothers slipped into the alley behind the store and melted into the shadows.  Raph used his knuckles to tap out a code on the back door, dropping an envelope of money on the ground before sliding out of sight.

           In a couple of minutes the door opened and an employee collected the envelope before setting several large paper sacks outside.  After he disappeared into the store and the sound of the lock clicking into place reached them, the brothers came out of hiding.

Raph handed a bag to each of his brothers.  “Hey, this is heavy.  What did you buy?  I didn’t think we were out of much more than milk,” Mikey said before peeking into his bag.  “Beer?”

           “This is a lot of beer, Raph,” Leo said after verifying that his bag also contained a twelve-pack of the beverage.

           “I might have gone a little overboard,” Raph acknowledged as he slid the cover off the nearest manhole.

           The brothers dropped into the tunnels and waited for Raph to seal off their entrance before Leo said, “You don’t get this much beer even when you’re entertaining Casey.”

           Raph exchanged glances with Don, who quirked an inquisitive eye ridge at him.  “I’ve got something I’ve been meaning ta tell ya’ guys about,” Raph said.  “When we get back ta the lair I’ll explain everything.”

           No one pushed him on it, knowing they’d hear the story as soon as they were safely at home.  After they’d stashed the beer in a cooler and put the milk away, the brothers took a seat at the kitchen table and looked at Raph expectantly.

           “I’m gonna lubricate my throat with one of those beers,” Raph said.  “Who’s joining me?”

           “I’ll take one,” Mikey said.

           “Me too,” Don answered.

           “Leo?” Raph asked as he passed bottles to the other two.

           He half expected Leo to choose water because he rarely drank, but his brother surprised him.  “Why not?” Leo asked, accepting the bottle when Raph handed it to him.

           After twisting the caps off, the brothers solemnly tapped their bottles together and took a swig.  With a satisfied sigh, Raph leaned back in his chair and looked around the table.

           “Tomorrow morning I’m heading out ta the docks where I’m gonna jump on a boat that Ryan Bridge owns.  We’re going out ta open water far from prying eyes and then we’ll spend the day fishing and drinking beer,” Raph announced.  “Master Splinter already knows and gave me his permission.  He also knows that me and Ryan are exploring the possibility of being more than just friends.”

           Since this wasn’t news to either Don or Mikey, neither reacted to Raph’s announcement.  The only indication that Leo was surprised was that he didn’t blink for over a minute and when his eyes cleared he took a long, deliberate drink of beer before saying anything.

           “Angel’s brother?” Leo asked.

           “Yeah,” Raph answered carefully.  He watched Leo’s eyes, reading the movement of his brother’s pupils.  Something was bothering Leo and Raph nursed his beer as he waited for the oldest to get it off his chest.

           “If you have a relationship with Ryan, what effect will that have on Angel?” Leo finally asked.

           Raph was just lifting the beer bottle to his mouth and his hand froze.  Leo’s question was something Raph hadn’t even considered when he’d begun to think of Ryan as a potential partner.

           “I don’t know.  I never thought about it,” Raph admitted.

           “She’s family,” Mikey said.  “Maybe she’ll be cool with it.”

           “Does Angel even know that her brother is gay?” Don asked.

           “I never asked Ryan that question,” Raph said.  “He and his grams had a difference of opinion about it.  She was worried about how Ryan’s lifestyle might influence Angel.  He never did say if Angel knew or not.”

           “I’ll bet she does,” Mikey said with confidence, leaning back in his chair and waving his beer bottle around.  “Nothing gets past that kid.”

           “If you and Ryan are thinking about becoming serious, you should talk to Angel,” Leo said.  “Make sure she doesn’t feel awkward at knowing the two of you are seeing each other.”

           Raph had tensed up as soon as Leo began to speak, bracing himself for what he was sure would be some irritating diatribe by his fearless leader.  However Leo’s tone of voice surprised the hot head; his words sounded nothing like an order but very much like he was offering Raph some brotherly advice.

           “You’re right,” Raph acknowledged, drawing looks of astonishment from Don and Mikey.  Even when Leo was correct about something, Raph rarely accepted it.  “I don’t want ta hurt that kid, Ryan says she’s on a good path now.”

           Leo leaned forward, his expression forthright.  “I hope this works out for you, Raph.  There’s no one more deserving of a special relationship.  But if somehow things don’t go as smoothly as we’d all like to see happen, you and Ryan need to arrange in advance to keep the fallout from hurting Angel.”

           “I’ll talk ta him about it,” Raph said earnestly.  “We ain’t done anything but say we’re interested in each other, so if we can’t agree on a way ta keep things the way they are for Angel, then I won’t go any further.”

           Leo lifted his bottle.  “Let’s drink a toast to the hopes that things do go well and that fortune continues to smile on our little family.”

           Raising his bottle, Raph said, “To Don and April, a pair that was always destined ta be together.”

           Don joined them, his bottle held high.  “To Casey Jones.  May he someday find the right person and live happily ever after.”

           It was Mikey’s turn.  “To my brothers who are the absolute best part of my life.”

           The four once again tapped their bottles against each other’s and drank.  Raph jumped up to serve another round and the brothers spent the next couple of hours talking and laughing.

           It felt right and good to be able to converse openly with his brothers about everything Raph was experiencing.  Not telling them about what he’d been going through had left Raph out of balance and feeling cowardly.  Hiding things went against his very nature and Raph vowed to himself that he’d never do that again.

           They might have stayed up all night but for the fact that Mikey had gotten a little loopy from the beer and Leo finally called it quits in order to help his little brother make it up the stairs.  When Mikey dragged Leo into his room with him, claiming loudly that he couldn’t sleep without his cuddle turtle, Raph wondered how much of Mikey’s behavior was inebriation and how much an act just so he’d have some company.

           Don stayed behind to help Raph clean up the empty bottles.  “How are you getting out to the docks in the morning?” Don asked.  “The cooler is too big to fit on your bike.”

           Raph scratched the back of his neck.  “Don’t know; guess I could take the van.”

           “If you do that you’ll have to find a place to park it all day.  I can drive you out there and pick you up when you’re done,” Don offered.

           “Ya’ sure?” Raph asked.  “That’d save me a lot of trouble but it’s a damn early run.  I gotta be there by four-thirty.”

           Don glanced at the wall clock.  “Then we’d better get to bed.  I can always take a nap when I get back home, but if you fall asleep while you’re fishing, you’ll never hear the end of it.”

           True to his promise, Don was up early.  Fueled by coffee and carrying a thermos of the black liquid with him, he helped Raph load the cooler into the van and the pair set off.

           Traffic was immensely manageable at that time of the morning and it only took forty-five minutes to reach the spot where Ryan’s boat was docked.  Raph hopped out of the van and retrieved the cooler, using the handle to wheel it around to where Don sat in the driver’s seat.

           “Ya’ don’t need ta wait,” Raph told his brother.  “If he ain’t here for some reason I can make my own way home.”

           “I’ll wait,” Don said with a smile.  “I have no doubt you’d manage to get home, but what about the beer?  You’d have to leave it behind and that would be a waste.  I can’t have that on my conscience.”

           Raph knew his brother could tell he was a little nervous and he appreciated Don’s subtle way of offering his support.

           “Good thinking bro’,” Raph said.  “Listen, I’ll give ya’ a call on the cell when we get back.  If ya’ don’t hear from me that means I’m catching a ride with Ryan.”

           “Sounds like a plan,” Don said, watching as Raph set off along the dock, pulling the cooler of beer behind him.

           There were a few fishing boats lined up on either side of the dock and Raph kicked himself for forgetting to ask for the name of Ryan’s vessel.  Halfway down the row, he spotted a large salvage boat, its lines clean and the hull a brilliant white.  Painted on its bow was a gold halo and the name ‘Angel’.

           “Hello the boat!” Raph called out.

           Almost immediately Ryan appeared from the cabin, a big grin stretched across his handsome face.

           “Good morning sailor,” Ryan said in greeting.  “Come aboard.”

           Raph handed the cooler up to him and then clambered onto the boat.  He turned towards where Don sat in the van and lifted a thumb into the air, watching as the headlights came on and the van pulled away.

           “Well, it looks like the one thing we won’t have to do without on this expedition is beer,” Ryan said good-naturedly as he eyed the size of the cooler.

           “Ya’ can’t ever have enough beer,” Raph told him with a grin.  “There’s some water in there too, but that’s all we’re gonna have unless we catch some fish.”

           “I brought a few snacks,” Ryan said, “but cheese balls, pork skins, and crackers aren’t nearly as satisfying as flounder or bass.  Can you toss off those lines after I get her started?”

           “Will do captain,” Raph said, hopping onto the dock to untie the spring lines once he heard the motor kick in.  Removing the last dock line, Raph jumped back into the boat and pulled up the fenders as Ryan powered ahead, taking them out towards open water.

           Because it was still dark outside, Raph was able to stand next to Ryan as he piloted the boat.  They didn’t try to talk over the sound of the engine, simply enjoying being near each other as the fresh air caressed their faces and the fine salt spray periodically touched their skin.

           Ryan apparently had a particular spot in mind and after a while he slowed the boat and cut the engine.  The sun was beginning to rise as Ryan set the anchor and broke out the fishing gear.

           “Don’t forget the wager,” Ryan said.  “Whoever catches the fewest fish has to clean them.”

           “You are so on,” Raph said, picking out a pole from the bunch that Ryan had onboard.

           “Have you ever fished out in open water before?” Ryan asked.

           “Never had the chance,” Raph said.  “I’ve done some pond fishing and some fishing off the banks of the East river.  Sure would like to catch something that’ll give me a fight.”

           “This is the spot for it,” Ryan said.  “Not too many people know about it so we shouldn’t see anyone else.  If anyone does come this way, we’ll hear them first.”

           Raph watched Ryan cast his line and then followed suit.  The rod and line were heavier than anything he’d used before and so were the lures, so it took a little getting used to.

           It wasn’t long before Ryan pulled in a thirty inch striped bass.  Holding it up after a successful fight, he said, “Must be eleven, twelve pounds.  You’re going to have fun cleaning this puppy.”

           “Don’t get cocky,” Raph replied.  “The day is young.”

           Within the next half hour Ryan caught another bass of nearly the same size and Raph reminded him that beginners luck was eventually going to kick in.  Sure enough, fifteen minutes later Raph felt a hard tug on his line and found himself thanking the callouses on his hands because the fish was a fighter.

           “Holy crap!” Raph yelled as he finally pulled the fish up, holding onto the pole until Ryan grabbed the fish and hauled it over the side.

           “Damn, I don’t think I’ve ever seen anybody catch one this size,” Ryan said, admiring the bass.  “It has to be over fifty inches and more than sixty pounds.”

           “My father said he’d like some fresh fish,” Raph said.  “I guess I ain’t gonna disappoint him.”

           “We aren’t going to starve either,” Ryan said with a laugh.  “I don’t suppose I could get a picture of you holding your catch, could I?”

           “Ya’ want a picture of me?” Raph said, surprised.

           Ryan’s eyes caught and held Raph’s, his face coloring slightly.  “I’d like one, with or without the fish.”

           Raph’s heart did a backflip but Leo’s words from the night before came back to him.  Clearing his throat, Raph said, “I’d like your picture too, actually.  But I gotta say something first and this is probably the best time ta bring it up.  My brothers and I talked some and we got on the subject of Angel.  She’s like family ta us; like the little sister we won’t ever have.  If you and me, you know, get together, how is Angel gonna take that?  Does she even know ya’ like men?”

           “Angel has known for a long time that I’m gay,” Ryan said.  “She’s pretty worldly wise for someone of her age.  Grams doesn’t think she knows about that sort of stuff and didn’t want me hanging around Angel with any of my ‘gentlemen friends’.  She was sure that my being gay would somehow taint my sister.  Angel and I let grams think that I’m remaining celibate and that Angel doesn’t know a thing.

           “I took Angel to lunch yesterday,” Ryan continued.  “I told her that I was taking you out on the fishing boat today.  Do you know what she said?  Angel said she wished that I could find a boyfriend who was just like you because then she could stop worrying about me.  She said you’re dependable, honest, strong, smart, and hunky.”

           “Hunky huh?” Raph repeated as a corner of his mouth lifted.

           “I know my sister well and she had a gleam in her eye when she was telling me that,” Ryan said.  “I’m pretty sure she was hinting that she was okay with the two of us being together.  It wouldn’t surprise me if she guessed from the way I talked about you that you swing the same way that I do.”

           “My bro’s ain’t got a problem with us either,” Raph admitted, “so long as Angel don’t get hurt in the process.”

           “We could set some ground rules,” Ryan said, drawing closer to Raph.  “Since we both love Angel, it shouldn’t be hard to stick to them.  Say if something happens and it doesn’t work out, we’ll call it off amicably.  Neither of us will discuss the other in Angel’s presence and I won’t try to get between you guys and her.”

           “I can agree ta that,” Raph said.  “Ya’ have my word.”

           “And you have mine,” Ryan said.  “So how about that picture?  We’re the only ones who will ever see it and you really should commemorate such a nice catch.”

           Raph reached into his belt and brought out his shell cell.  “Here, take the picture on this,” he said, setting it in camera mode and handing it to Ryan.  “I’ll get Donny ta make a print for ya’.  My brothers will have less of a fit if it ain’t on any kind of outside digital media.”

           When Ryan had the camera ready, Raph lifted the bass by its mouth and held it up.  A second later Ryan snapped the shot and then had Raph shift the fish so he was holding it horizontally, taking another picture.

           They took a break from fishing sometime after one in order to have lunch.  Although Raph had edged Ryan out by a total count of one fish, they both cleaned some of their catch and then Ryan grilled it up.

           The fish tasted amazing to Raph, who rarely got to eat anything quite so fresh.  It went well with ice cold beer and he and Ryan sat back on a couple of lawn chairs, soaking up the sun and talking.

           They talked for several hours, finding that they shared an enjoyment of the same sports, the same kind of books, even the same type of entertainment.  Afterwards they went back to fishing, hauling in a few more sizeable prizes for their dinner. 

           When the sun started to hover low over the water, the pair stowed the fishing gear and made sure their fish were well iced.

           Taking their beer, Raph and Ryan stood against the boat’s rail and watched the sky change color.

           “This was probably the best day I’ve ever had,” Raph said softly.

           “We can do this whenever you’d like,” Ryan told him.  “I can’t think of anything I’d rather do than spend another day like this with you.”

           They were standing close together and Raph turned to face the man.  “There were moments today that I found myself wishing time would just stand still.  I ain’t particularly good at saying stuff, but I did want ta thank ya’ for giving me this.”

           Raph was resting his arm on the railing and Ryan laid a tentative hand on the green skin.  “It doesn’t have to end,” he said slowly.  “We don’t have anything lined up for tomorrow so I can keep the boat out another day.  There are a couple of sleeping cabins down below if you wanted to spend the night.”

           There was another type of invitation in Ryan’s eyes and it set off fireworks in Raph’s belly.  Wrapping an arm around Ryan’s waist, Raph pulled the man close, nearly gasping with need when Ryan’s hand settled on his hip.

           “Two cabins huh?” Raph asked, his mouth hovering a scant inch from Ryan’s.

           When he spoke, Ryan’s voice was low and husky.  “Or we could share one.”

           Their lips met in a slow sensual kiss that deepened and intensified as they clung to one another.  The sun went down behind them, a bright splash of gold painting the horizon with a final flash that to Raph’s fanciful mind was like the gods were offering their approval of his choice.

           He had no doubt that he’d made the best one.  Ryan was exactly who he’d been searching for and as they walked hand in hand toward the cabins below deck, Raph smiled contentedly.  For the first time in his life, Raph intended to make love with someone and that was the most wonderful feeling of all.

 

The End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This alternate image created by Dragona15 from DeviantArt.  
> 


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